The Design of Change
by decktodef
Summary: When Darth Vader is gifted a palatial estate by his master, what happens when he meets an architect with nothing to live for, & catches a glimmer of the light once more? AU no crispy halfmachine sith lord!R&R CH28 UP! please review, please please.
1. Ch1 Setting the Stage

She stood very still over the drafting table in the cold, dura-steel room. With a critical eye, she scanned the large drawing in front of her. It had to be perfect, or it would be her ass.

Sighing, she turned & slumped down in the large black leather chair at her desk & glanced at the holographic computer monitor in front of her. Striking a few buttons on the keyboard, the projection began to move. The image in front of her was to be the new imperial palace that Chancellor Palpatine had bestowed his new apprentice, Darth Vader. It was an extremely complicated building, destined to have spacious, grandiose rooms, as well as secret rooms & passages, control centers & briefing rooms, & even elaborate gardens. The animation that moved on the holograph in front of her was a visualization of the movement between the rooms in the master quarters. That afternoon, she would be meeting the future lord of the manor, & she had been warned that it had better be perfect & ready for construction… _or else._

A blinking light followed by a tiny beep notified her of an incoming call on her comm link. Picking up the tiny hand held device, she pressed a button & spoke into it, "Aurren Farr here."

A small-intimidated voice came from the contraption, "Miss Farr, I have just been notified that the Imperial Fleet have landed in the hanger, & his lordship will be visiting you momentarily."

"Thank you Mrs. Ure," she replied with a sigh. She could tell that her elderly secretary, who she only knew as "Mrs. Ure" was terrified. She probably felt that if Lord Vader were unhappy with the project Aurren was working on, that she would be punished as well, even though old Mrs. Ure had no clue what her boss did behind her office doors.

Aurren looked around her office for a moment, making sure she had everything she needed for the 20th time that day. She set up her large holo-projector on the large coffee table in the seating area & loaded the tiny silver disk, which was the only copy of the complete set of plans into the machine. Next, she carefully carried the large drawings & laid them on the table next to the projector.

'This is it,' she thought as she sat in her desk chair & looked out the reinforced windows of her office to the vast expanse of space stretching out in all directions. She was confident in her work. It was the first time since the rise of the Empire that she had been able to design anything but stark military establishments. She was told to spare no cost on materials, & she reveled in it. It was the most beautiful, most intricate building she had ever created, a virtual impenetrable fortress disguised as a study in timeless beauty & comfort. This was what she called 'the point of no return'. It would either be accepted or it wouldn't, & her fate was the same as the new palace she had designed. If they had no use for it, that would be the end of their use for her.

She felt no fear, but a deep lulling calm as she waited for the most feared man in the Galaxy, Darth Vader, to come & grant her approval.

As his ship approached the great star ship, Lord Vader groaned inwardly at the thought of dealing with yet another simple-minded underling. Seated behind an imposing dura-steel desk, he took one more glance at the thin file in front of him. Opening it, he re-read the information inside.

Darth Vader was a man who had no fear, but he also had no trust. He was disappointed when he found out that a mere child would design his new palace. To be fair, the girl was only a year younger than he, but he was Lord Vader, a Sith lord, & he felt no need to be fair. After all, he was the most powerful man in the galaxy, second only to his master, & he had no need for fairness.

He had been re-assured by the Emperor that the best candidate had been chosen for the job of designing the palace, but he refused to believe that someone with so little experience could be the best candidate.

'Aurren Farr…,' he said to himself, '26 years of age, employed by the Empire since its beginning, loyal & trusted subject,' with that he smirked, yeah, sure, just like the rest of the sheep, 'designer of 29 unique stronghold bases at strategic empirical locations…_29 stronghold bases?_' He seemed taken aback by the number of commended & successful projects she had completed. 'Yeah, well, she may have lived up to the meager standards of the military, but I'm sure she is just as worthless as the rest of these leeches,' he thought bitterly.

A light knocking on his door informed him that they had landed. He rose from his desk & swung his heavy black cloak around his shoulders. Then he picked up the black facemask he wore in public, & placed it over his head, & pulled his hood up over it bitterly.

He spared a moment's thought to his hatred for this feature of his wardrobe, but threw it aside instantly. He knew that to show his face would be disastrous. On Mustafar after order 66 was placed, he had battled with his former master for what seemed like an eternity. As the darkness consumed him & raged inside of him, he came to the realization that he could not strike down his former master, no matter how much hate he harbored for him. When he saw his chance, he dove through the air, feigning an attack on the edge of a jagged cliff. Before he ever moved, he knew how Kenobi would move & used it to his advantage… to both of their advantage, & appeared to lose his balance on the steep ledge, only to fall to his death in the fiery chasm below. He used the force to guide himself into a crevice in the sheer rock face, & sent an avalanche of rock & dust down to the flowing lava river to disguise his evasive maneuver. He gloated at the sound of the grieving Jedi Master on the cliff above. He knew that his apparent death would cause him more pain than any actual physical pain he could have inflicted.

It wasn't for the scattered Jedi alone that he was forced to wear the mask. His face was known far & wide by people all over the galaxy, he was once known as The Chosen One, the one who would bring balance back to the force, the "Hero With No Fear". Anakin Skywalker was dead. He had killed him. This black hole of a mask was his punishment.

A quick flick of his wrist opened the doors to his quarters, & he wordlessly stalked past the crew & off of the ship. First, he would find his new quarters on this star ship, then, he would see about this Farr woman.


	2. Ch2 The Short History of Aurren Farr

Aurren Farr was a reluctant employee of the Empire. For most of her life, she had no care for the matters of the Republic, & even now for the matters of the Empire. Born on the Alderrian countryside, the few pleasant memories she had were flashes and glimpses of sunny valleys & snowy mountain peaks, wildflowers and her mother's laughter. At the young age of 6, Aurren had been orphaned after the death of her parents. They had been ruthlessly murdered one day by petty robbers who had ransacked her parent's small meager farmhouse while she had been playing in the orchards, picking wildflowers for her mother. When she returned to the house, arms full of flowers, flushed from the sun & without a care in the world, her life suddenly flipped upside down. She took no notice of the fact that the door was wide open, & rushed in, only to be stopped in her tracks. There, sprawled unnaturally on the floor surrounded by crimson pools, were her parents. The flowers dropped unceremoniously from her tiny arms, floating gently to the floor, landing lightly in the bright red pools of blood.

Hours later, Rolin Crange, a family friend stopped by to visit, not only to be greeted by the disturbing scene of the wrecked house, but of small Aurren sitting dazed on the blood soaked floor next to her murdered parents, the wildflowers eerily scattered about.

Living in a small, poor rural village, the news spread quickly of the death of Allan & Berra Farr. Most were shocked to hear how it appeared they were attacked in the middle of the day in their own home. They assumed that the intruders were angered when they realized there was little in the home of value. Berra had been struck by a blunt object at the base of her skull, & then stabbed multiple times. Allan's throat had been slashed. As for Aurren, she had spent the next week in a daze, going through unsure motions as her parent's friends tried to figure out what they would do with her. She did not speak a word to anyone until the funeral. As the pyre was lit, the young girl's shock seemed to break, & along with it came the sobs & wails & screams that had been held back all along.

After her parent's death, Aurren was placed in an orphanage in the capital city of Alderaan. As much as she did not want to leave the only place she ever knew, she understood, even at 6 years old, that there was no one in the village who could afford to take her in, no matter how much they cared for her or her parents. She was taken aback by the city, the loss of the vast open spaces, but found herself fascinated at the architecture of the city, especially the royal palaces. It was new to her to see the tall sleek buildings of the capital after only knowing the small thatched cottages of the countryside. She marveled at the vast expanses of cold, white marble & colorful sparking granite. She spent hours looking out the dingy windows of the orphanage, staring at the skyscrapers & wondering how they were made.

At the age of 13, the orphanage she lived in was invited to the royal palace as guests of the King & Queen for the solstice celebration. While the other children found themselves delighted with the rich foods & new clothes & toys, Aurren was spellbound as she walked through the grand hallways & ornate arcades. She saw the building as not just a home or a symbol of the Monarchy, but as a massive, magnificent piece of art. She began sketching the buildings she saw, remembering the various architectural details, learning their proper names & origins, & contemplating floor plans & layouts. Her curiosity turned into love & passion, & soon she spent all her free hours when she wasn't in class or working in the dish-room at the run down diner down the street in the vast public library & archives.

It was this building that was her muse. A mixture of old & new, of nature & technology, it was not only the most beautiful, calm & serene place in the busy city, but it was also a bastion of endless knowledge. It was here that she found colorful books full of glossy pictures of buildings from all over the galaxy. She learned of the distinct style of each planet, how people lived, & how life was centered on the unique architecture of each culture. Here she fell in love with the countryside estates of Naboo with their "bring the outdoors in" style, as well as finding herself awe-struck at the severe architecturally vertical style of the city planet of Coruscant. For the first time in her life, Aurren began to dream of actually making a life for herself. She wanted to travel & see all of these places. She wanted to learn how they were created. She wanted to meet the minds that these wonders of rock & steel were created by. It was also here that Aurren learned of the Architectural Academy of Coruscant.

At 16 years old, Aurren Farr left the orphanage. She had found out that her parents had not left her completely alone & penniless. At their death, a trust fund had been set up for her by friends of her parents after all of their debts & responsibilities had been taken care of. It hadn't been much, but it was enough to get her off of Alderaan.

Aurren was lucky that she was a smart girl. After her visit to the Royal Palace, her teachers at the orphanage school noticed that she had a keen eye & had introduced her to a few of the Royal Architects who worked out of her beloved library. These kind men allowed her to watch them work, answering her questions, & were impressed at the vast knowledge she had gained on her own through her readings. They knew of her desire to leave Alderaan & attend the Coruscantii School of architecture, even though the timid girl never once made mention of it to anyone. Though her formal education was scant-only what the poor orphanage could afford- without her knowledge, the kind men spoke to the Dean of the academy & gained her admission.

Upon stepping off of her transport in the great hanger of the academy, she was driven. The city around her seemed to buzz, 24 hours a day, & she thrived off of it. Her small inheritance covered her tuition to the academy, but that was all. Her days were spent waking early & working in the dining hall to supplement her living. After the morning rush, she would dash through the halls to reach her classes early so she could speak to her teachers. Straight through the day she would attend classes, a heavier course load than the normal student, & then after dinner she would return to the dining hall to scrub dishes. Once the dishes were done she would retreat to the academy's grand library to finish her school work & pursue extra credit work.

Though the city energized her with its lights & sounds & endless stream of people, it also tired her & made her sad. Long ago she had given up having friends. She had found it hard to get close to people ever since the death of her parents & then being left in a strange city by her parent's friends, the people she had always considered her extended family. It boggled her mind when she really thought about it… all these people, all on their own path in life, all doing their own thing… & all singularly concerned. This bright glossy planet looked happy on the outside, but it was all false niceties. The endless stream of foreign dignitaries & politicians only added to the greed that seemed to ooze secretly out of the seams of every structure. The only way to live in this city was to be self-sufficient, & selfish. As much as she hated it, she needed this city. She didn't know why, but she felt that it was her way to something better. She stayed away from people, only forming the necessary relationships between classmates, teachers, & mentors, keeping herself from forming any sort of attachment. In her mind, it only led to one of two places, & both of them ended in hurt. She feared loss, much as she had since the death of her parents, but she also feared the fakeness of false friendships, relationships created only to further one cause or another.

The only light & peace on this planet was in the only obvious place, the revered Jedi temple. Towering & grand, she spent hours outside its façade, watching the play of light across the building & wondering what the corridors & rooms inside looked like. She felt a sense of calm when she sat across the street from the temple, watching the somber figures in brown robes come & go.

Her 21st year was the one that changed the course of her life. At long last, after 5 years of studying & proving herself, she finally graduated from the academy at the head of her class. She accepted a position working for the unstable republic government infrastructure. As for her feelings about what was going on in the galaxy, the clone wars, the separatist factions, the rumors of the return of the sith… well, she had none. Her entire life she had felt insignificant when it came to the vast galaxy & all of the planetary systems & their governments. In her experience, she had never felt any hate or love for government, it was simply an entity which would always be there, in whatever form it came, where her tiny voice would never make a bit of difference. Of course, in her heart she felt strongly for cause of democracy, she was always utilitarian in nature, her heart longed for the greatest good for the greatest number of people. Throughout her life, though, she never saw the supposed democracy she lived in work as she understood it should. Living in Coruscant quickly jaded her to her lofty ideals as she realized that a true democracy seemed nothing but a pipe dream of the poor.

Hours & hours in the library, with her nose in books or reading endless data pads kept the problems of the Republic out of her mind. She had decided to simply roll with the punches, no matter what happens, & make the best of it.

Though Aurren wanted to believe that graduating at the top of her class at the Academy was the biggest life changing moment of her 21st year, the truth was that something much darker had brought about the biggest change. The fall of the Galactic Republic & the rise of the Empire were events that changed everyone's lives.

In the first few months of working for the Republic, she rose quickly through the ranks, designing elaborate bases for the waging war. Though she hated the work, with its plain lines & stark almost clinical dura-steel construction, she had a certain knack for designing new ways to fortify buildings, making them nearly impenetrable due to their construction alone, as well as creating secret rooms & passageways. Aurren always felt that it was an unwanted gift, gained from the violation of her unprotected home when she was young. She was constantly, unconsciously, looking at her surroundings & figuring out how to make them the safest. That was the thing, she thought, since her parents were robbed from her at such a young age, she had never felt safe. She loathed it, even though it gave her drive. She longed to be creating beautiful buildings, but even those, if she were honest with herself, would function with as much security as she could muster. She felt that as long as she was creating something, it might as well be beautiful. In her off-hours, she would toil over her drafting table in her small apartment, & draw by hand the buildings she saw in her dreams.

On the day that the Jedi temple burned, & Chancellor Palpatine was voted emperor by the Senate after declaring the Jedi as enemies of the republic, all government employees were summoned to their superiors office & told to declare themselves loyal to the new Empire & the new Emperor. A few brave souls refused to declare loyalty, & were in turn declared traitors, & put to a sudden & painful death at the hands of the white armored clone troopers in front of his fellow employees. Those who had a mind to dissent quickly declared their loyalty for fear of their lives.

As the Jedi temple smoldered in the distance, Aurren boarded the government transport sent to take her to the Architecture office, she assumed to do as everyone else had done, & declare her loyalty to the Empire. Gazing out the window towards the thick clouds of smoke that suffocated the remains of the Jedi sanctuary, she wondered distantly what had really happened. She knew what everyone else knew, & that was the words of the Emperor… the Jedi had tried to overthrow the chancellor & the Republic… they had been plotting with the Separatists… & finally, that all remaining Jedi were traitors, & to be captured & executed. She felt a tinge of sadness pass through her, but immediately suppressed it. Things were changing, times were changing, & to survive, she would do what she had to do. Right now, what she had to do was declare her loyalty to the Empire.

For many people, many of Aurren's co-workers included, the realization that the Republic & democracy were truly gone was hard to take. It was a concept they believed in down to their very souls. Sheer survival was the only reason most of the people she was acquainted with accepted their new situation. Things were so unstable, that the mere mention of dissent was enough to have troopers enter a home forcibly & arrest the suspected traitors.

Aurren felt indifferent about the change of rule. Not to say that she wasn't upset about it. Though she was a pessimist by nature, & had thought for the past few years that the galaxy was on the path to Imperialism, it wasn't a turn that she wanted to see the Republic make. But beyond being a pessimist, Aurren thought herself a realist as well. One had to take everything in stride, especially things that they could not change. The Empire was certainly something she could not change.

As the transport passed the Architecture offices, Aurren began to worry. As one of the head architects in the newly formed military division, she did not find it unusual that she was to be escorted by clone troopers to the meeting. She had heard that those who were affiliated with the military in any way were having a close eye kept on them, being that they would be the most damaging if they dissented the new government & fled. She didn't fear what would happen to her, but when she saw the transport approaching the private senatorial hanger, she understood that she was in a dangerous situation. As she was escorted through the halls of the senate, she noticed that the mood of everyone she passed was very serious… almost scared.

At the end of what seemed to be the hundredth hallway they had turned down, the troopers stopped in front of 2 large doors, & told her that she was expected inside.

A chill raced its way down Aurren's spine as the doors swung open & she walked into the room. A hooded figure sat with his back turned, gazing out the large windows, behind an imposing wooden desk on a dais. Standing in front of the desk, facing Aurren, stood the Director of the Military Buildings Program under the Republic, General Talken Bavlin. He no longer wore the uniform of the Republic, the one that she always saw him in at work, but the new, trim, gray uniform of the empire. This generally happy man's face was drawn- blank. He looked defeated… yet resolved.

She was greeted briefly by General Bavlin as the figure behind the desk slowly turned. She was then informed that the hooded figure was her new Emperor. Without even being prompted, Aurren fell to her knees, bowed her head, & vowed allegiance to Palpatine. For several moments she remained on her knees, her head bowed before the Emperor. An eerie voice from behind the desk told her to rise, & as she raised from the cold floor & looked towards her new liege, it somehow seemed appropriate to her that he was obscured by the shadows in the room, his face hidden under his hood. He seemed to be natural in the darkness.

The following events she can only recall as a faint blur. General Bavlin informed her that she would from then on be working for the Empire in much of the same position she did for the Republic- but there was a catch- she would be required to work in strict secrecy. If anything she worked on fell into the hands of the enemy- or anyone for that matter- she would reap the consequences. All projects that she would be commissioned by the Empire would be done solely by her, with no outside help. The General told her that the floor plans, layouts, & secret accesses would only be known by her, & whomever else the Emperor deemed needed that knowledge, as well as the Emperor himself. The buildings would be constructed in stages, with different work crews completing each phase, & no one soul was to ever have a complete set of drawings.

For the next hour the General went over protocol & procedure for each move she would make. At the end of it, Aurren was overwhelmed with the new responsibility placed upon her, but she knew it was her only path. Before she left, she was informed that she would be expected to move out of her home, & onto a massive starship, out of which she would both live & have her offices. Without being told, she understood that her life was no longer her own, that she was now the property of the new government, one that instilled trust in no one, & that all of her movements would be watched. She was told that she was being gifted a great opportunity, but with that opportunity came huge responsibility.

As the clone troopers escorted her back to her home, she took only a moment to grieve for the loss of her freedom. She couldn't see being unhappy for something she couldn't change. She resolved herself to her new fate as she stepped off the transport & entered her home. As she began to pack her things, Aurren decided that as long as she did her job well, kept her projects private, & kept to herself, she would be fine.


	3. Ch3 Impending doom?

The mysterious figure known as Darth Vader stormed down the corridor of the star ship, taking out his irritation on anyone who crossed his path. Gray uniformed crew scurried out of sight as they heard his heavy footfall down the hallway. He had been kept waiting by his new staff. His quarters were not yet ready, & though they tried to placate him with apologies, the reminded them grimly that they had been given strict orders to be prepared for his arrival. Upon entering his rooms, he startled a young technician who was plugging in the power supply to his computer system. The shocked boy accidentally slipped & dropped the unit to the floor, sending Vader into a rage. Extending his arm in front of him, he grasped at an invisible object. As his fingers closed, the technician grasped at his neck, trying to claw away the invisible hand clenching his airway shut. A sickening crunch resounded through the room, & as Vader unclenched his hand, the boys body slumped lifelessly to the floor.

Turning swiftly, he pointed at the rest of the staff who were cowering in the corner. "You will get this… _mess_," he spat disgustedly, "cleaned up immediately." "When I return, everything had better be perfect- or each of you will end up like that idiot," he growled, pointing at the lifeless body behind him.

He had been made late for his appointment. Even though Lord Vader was feared by all, & no one would ever mention any tardiness, he considered himself a man of his word. What he says, goes- without fail. He prided himself upon it, & the incident with his new staff had caused him to break his word. He did not expect, nor accept excuses from his crew, & he never offered any excuses in return. He reminded himself that not a soul would dare mention his delay, but that didn't mean it didn't piss him off anyway.

Rounding the corner to General Bavlin's office, he pushed back his anger-only a bit- & walked past the scared secretary without a word & into the room.

"Lord Vader," Bavlin began as he entered the room, rising quickly from behind his desk. "It is such an honor to-"

"Enough," Vader said, cutting him off. "I apologize for my lateness- & there is no need to exchange niceties with me General, we are both far too busy for those idiotic pursuits."

"Yes my lord," Bavlin replied. "Miss Farr is preparing as we speak."

"Miss Farr _had better_ be already prepared, I have been held up once today due to failure to follow orders, I am sure she would hate to end up the way that bantha's ass did."

A worried look crossed the General's face, one that Vader did not miss. As he followed Bavlin out of his office, a smirk crept across his lips. 'Hmmm… so Bavlin seems worried,' he thought. 'Perhaps he assumes as I do that this girl is greatly unprepared…' Under his mask, his once blue eyes flashed an angry yellow. If this one failed him, he would take pleasure in squeezing the life out of her.

In her office, Aurren sat behind her desk, an air of calm surrounding her. On the inside, she was pushing back a bundle of nervous energy. She had heard of how hard it was to please Lord Vader, he was notoriously picky & frequently flew into a rage when he was unhappy. With all that in mind, she had a strange confidence in the palace she had created.

When she was commissioned by the emperor to design Vader's' palace, she tried to gather as much information as she could about the finicky lord as to his preferences. The chef's & cooks that had survived his wrath gave her information that she used to create the kitchens, dining rooms & vegetable gardens to suit his culinary preferences. She spoke to servants & housekeepers about what colors he seemed to prefer, what his quarters at other locations looked like & how they were furnished. She even contacted his personal tailor & the laundry workers about his wardrobe so that she could tailor his closets to his needs.

All of her findings led her in one direction for the style of estate she would build for him. It would be a palace fit for Nubian royalty, one that would seem as if it had been plucked from the countryside. Aurren was certain that he couldn't be completely displeased; she had found that he surrounded himself with paintings of the beautiful rural landscape of Naboo, & even his rooms were appointed in the same style.

She had been completely absorbed by this project. Part of her drive came from the tedious nature of the job, but as soon as she decided to model the palace after her beloved Country Naboo style, her confidence began to soar as the ideas poured from her head.

Aurren modeled the palace after the great estate she had started planning during her time at the academy, & worked on in her free time before being given this commission. She added to the already vast size, while tailoring it to fit the preferences of the Dark Lord. She effortlessly accommodated all of the necessary control rooms, command centers, secret corridors rooms & vaults, as well as making this lofty, open air palace what she considered would be the most fortified & cutting edge structure across the galaxy.

'Deep breaths,' she thought as she waited, 'deep breaths.' Her fate, whatever it may be, was sealed. The past year had been the most fulfilling in her life. She enjoyed planning this palace, it combined her love of beauty & her ardent desire for security. She would never regret this, even if he hated it.

As she finally calmed herself, she heard the doors to her outer offices open, & stood suddenly, stilling her nerves, & waited for them to enter.


	4. Ch4 Unsettling Acceptance

The doors slid open with a hiss, & General Bavlin entered, followed by the imposing cloaked and masked Vader. Standing behind her plain dura-steel desk, Aurren reminded herself not to react to the masked appearance of the man accompanying General Bavlin. As the two men made the short journey from doorway to desk, she pushed all her anxiety, all of her fear and worry, back into the deep recesses of her mind.

Lord Vader quickly took in the appearance of the young architect behind the desk in the few seconds it took to walk across her surprisingly spacious office. Medium height- 5'4"… maybe 5'5", slim build, dark blond hair pulled back neatly. She had remarkably white, almost translucent skin that made her large brown eyes seem almost black. The man in him couldn't help from noticing the slight curves of her body that her trim gray uniform failed to conceal. In the same moment, he did as he normally did upon meeting new people, and reached out to her with the force so he could sense her feelings.

He found himself thrown off a bit by what he felt from Aurren Farr. Although he was surprised that he sensed no fear in her-fear was the norm- it wasn't that which left him slightly confused. She seemed, well, empty. It was as if weren't really there. Usually, in a brief second, he could sense a lot about a person. Not specific things, but enough to give him a good grasp on their hopes & fears, enough to allow him to manipulate them. As for Miss Farr, when it came to hopes, dreams & fears- she had none.

Glancing at her face as he came to a halt next to General Bavlin, he saw nothing there. Her dark eyes were as vacant as the expression on her face. If it hadn't seemed impossible, he would have thought she had picked that moment to drop dead.

"Lord Vader, this is your Architect, Miss Aurren Farr, Aurren, this is Lord Vader." Bavlin's voice seemed to have a slight quiver to it as he made his introductions. "If it is alright, my lord, I will take your leave now so you may begin your meeting."

The General's request was granted with a brief nod in his direction from Vader. "Thank you my lord," he said, bowing slightly & then rushing out of the room.

"Miss Farr," Vader began, "I do hope you are ready for me today."

"Of course my lord," she replied, moving from behind the desk and motioning for them to join her. "I have created a complete virtual holographic representation for you, correct down to the last nail. It has a 360 3-D animation of every room and hallway, as well as the exterior & the grounds. The structure is shown fully decorated and furnished, with several options for furniture & color schemes embedded. I also have hard copy graphic drawings of the main rooms and master's quarters, as well as views from each side of the grounds. I prepared a complete dossier for you on all of the security features, and specifications on the new technology proposed," she stopped when she reached the small seating area, "I can start anywhere you would like, my lord."

As Aurren talked, Vader was overtaken by the vast amount of planning it seemed this girl had done. She had indeed gone above and beyond any expectations he had- although his expectations were certainly very low. He fully expected to be releasing his wrath on somebody, but as she continued he got the feeling that this woman… this very young woman… would surprise him. He was intrigued, if not a bit irritated. 'She has to have screwed up somewhere,' he thought as he followed her towards the low table arranged with a holo-projector & a thick portfolio. Glancing down at her as she asked him where he would like to start, he realized that her somberness bothered him.

"Please Miss Farr, begin with your drawings."

He locked his eyes on her as she asked him to please sit. He placed himself near the center of the long white couch against the wall. He watched her through his mask as she bent slightly to pick up the portfolio off of the table. Turning back towards him, he was dumbfounded when she rather unexpectedly placed herself on the long couch directly next to him, closer than most dared to get. She was so close in fact, that when she turned to speak again, her knee casually brushed against his calf. He was suddenly jarred by this innocent, meaningless contact. It occurred to him that he hadn't been touched voluntarily by a single person since the rise of the Empire.

"I hope you are pleased, my lord. I can honestly say that I've worked very hard on this." Her voice was low, but unwavering. He noticed that her demeanor had become relatively at ease. He felt that her ease was a result of the emptiness he felt from her- which now he realized was not exactly emptiness, just a lack of attachment to anything, as well as what he noticed as resolve. On a few occasions he had felt this particular emotion from others. It was usually from some kriffing rebellion leader who had been captured as he walked proudly to his death. He wondered if she thought he would take her life, since she obviously was resolved to her fate. Her calm blankness unnerved him. He shifted slightly, unconsciously shying away from the slight physical contact between their legs.

Slowly, Aurren began handing him the drawings one by one.

As long, quiet minutes passed, the young architect began to worry as he looked over her renderings without uttering a sound. He would spend a moment looking at each picture, then without turning his head, reach out for the next one. Glancing at the expressionless black mask on his face, she found herself wishing she could see his eyes. She always felt that she could tell by looking at someone's eyes if felt what they were looking at was beautiful.

Behind the mask, Vader said a silent word of thanks for his concealment as his mouth hung agape. The images that passed before his eyes seemed to be plucked from his dreams. He could almost smell the roses that were drawn over the arbor at the main entrance. For once- he had no idea how to react. He wasn't prepared for this. He was supposed to be angry… about something… but he was dazzled by what she had created for him. He wondered how she knew that there was a special fondness in his heart for Naboo. It was obvious from her renderings that the countryside estates and manors of that planet were her muse for his palace- and it was perfect.

He almost felt overwhelmed by it all. She had certainly done her homework.

As he finished feasting his eyes on the last rendering, he gently placed the stack in a neat pile on the table before him and stared off straight-ahead. Gathering himself, he spoke without looking towards her. "Very well Miss Farr. You have accomplished much more that I ever honestly expected you to." His voice wavered slightly for a moment, & he cursed himself mentally before continuing. "I am surprised…and pleased at your proposition." It was so hard for him to actually tell her she had done well.

Abruptly he stood and turned to Aurren. "I have seen all I need to see at this time."

Aurren rose to her feet as soon as she saw him stand. He faced her & saw her black eyes gazing directly into his own masked eyes.

"Please my lord, take with you the animation & security dossier if you wish. You can view them at your leisure." She seemed to glide effortlessly across the room as she retrieved the dossier from her desk, then quickly slipping the disc containing the animation from her projector. Gingerly, she approached him and held out the items.

Lord Vader slipped the objects from her fingers more gently that he was used to being. She took a brief step back & bowed her head.

"Thank you my lord. I promise I will do my best to please you."

Her eyes never left the floor as she spoke to him. A stray thought invaded his mind unwilled as she stated her desire to please him-"_I am sure you _will_ please me…"_ Shaking it off, he began his exit from the office. The doors hissed open as he reached them, and he stopped and turned back to her. She still stood where he had left her, this time glancing timidly in his direction. "I will be in contact with you. Continue your work. You will do well for yourself if you continue to please me."

Without another word, he turned with a swirl of his black cloak, and stalked out of the room.

When the office doors closed behind him, she waited to hear the doors to her outer office give him leave before sliding down onto the couch. All of the emotions she had bottled up tight and stored deep inside burst loose, and with a deep sigh, tears of fear, anxiety, anger, sadness, loneliness, and at long last-hope, fell in hot streams down her cheeks. She knew she had created a great structure, but one thing she never had was real honest pride in it. It wasn't until he had departed leaving her completely unscathed- not so much as an angry word or a hot temper- that she actually saw a tiny ray of hope.

Not ready to give way to anything as frivolous as optimism, she forced the tears to stop & wiped her face. 'Now I just need to do better,' she thought. 'I can always do better… he's going to expect more of me now… the bar's been raised.'

Methodically she moved about the office, gathering all things related to the palace. She placed them in her specially designed safe as she did every time she left her office. As if in a daze, she turned off all the lights & exited her office, her legs mechanically taking her back to her quarters. She needed a long bath and a good nights rest.


	5. Ch5 Unwanted Emotions

5.unwanted emotions

Darth Vader seethed quietly behind his disguise as he made his way back to his quarters. He glanced at the slim folder and shiny holo-disc in his hand with disgust.

The entire day had gone all wrong. First the incident with his unprepared staff, then being faced with this seemingly over-achieving girl who had, to his dismay, surpassed all of his expectations. As he stalked through the abandoned corridors, his mind was muddled with confusion. To make it worse, he was confused _about_ his confusion.

There was not one specific thing he could pinpoint as the source of his distraction. It was everything about the previous encounter that puzzled him. As a Sith lord, he expected all of his subordinates to serve his every whim and fancy. He used his anger as motivation for his underlings to please him, and found it to be the most effective.

There was one lesson he remembered from his former life as a Jedi knight. It was that to be successful, one had to remove themselves from every non-productive emotion. The Jedi translation of that lesson was different from the way he viewed it as a Sith. A Jedi would consider any emotion a non-productive emotion. To a Sith, only emotions gained from frivolous pursuits, such as love, happiness, compassion & the like, were considered non-productive. Anger on the other hand, was one of most productive tools in his arsenal. Sith's thrived on fear, and Lord Vader took great pride in "encouraging" his underlings with his rage.

Approaching the outer doors to his suite of rooms, Vader realized that he had made it all the way back here without once taking notice of his surroundings, lost in a train of thought that constantly derailed. Moving through the doors to his living room, he hardly noticed the few servants remaining in the room scatter and leave. As he heard his chamber doors close, he turned and glanced around the room. He had somehow forgotten that he had meant to scour his rooms to make sure everything was perfect. He pushed that thought from his mind as he reached out with the force through his rooms to make sure he was alone. Once he was sure that there was not another creature present, he returned to his entry door and activated the locks.

Turning slowly, he made his way up a short set of stairs to the large wooden doors of his bedchamber. Once inside, he entered his spacious fresher and pressed a code into a number pad on the wall. A compartment slid open, revealing a large empty closet-save for a bare, faceless mannequin.

Starting at with his hands, he slid off the thick black gloves he wore, first the one from his left hand, the one of flesh and bone, and then his right hand, the one forged from steel. Gently he laid the gauntlets on the lone shelf, then moved his nimble fingers to the base of his helmet-like mask. His flesh fingers joined his metal ones as they worked their way under the edges, and with a slight twist and click, the stuffy black prison released its hold and slid silently from his head.

A deep breath filled his lungs with the stale ship air. After spending so much time inside that contraption, even the stale, cold, filtered air of this ship was as great to him as a fine Correllian wine. He shoved the mask down over the head of the mannequin with a thud, & and ran his fingers through his sweat-drenched hair. The last few years he had managed to avoid wearing the suit most of the time. He worked from an office in what was once the Galactic Senate Building, now the new headquarters for the Empire, and only wore the disguise for the brief moments each day he was forced to do business outside of his rooms. He had forgotten how exhausting it could get trudging around in that get-up all day long.

Once more his deft fingers went to work on the thick black cloak he wore, sliding it deftly from his shoulders and swinging it over the dummy.

Looking into the mirror, he grimaced at what he saw. It was a face that he hated -one that served as a reminder to his past life. Suppressing the urge to shove his fist through the silvered glass, he moved to his spacious shower and turned on the stream as hot and fast as it would come.

As steam began to fill the room, he quickly shed the rest of his garments and stepped into the burning stream of water that sprayed from the wall. A sharp hiss escaped his lips as the hot water hit his flesh, his skin turning an angry red. Lowering the temperature slightly, the young lord leaned back against the cold tile wall, and languidly slid down to the floor.

Closing his eyes, he tried to figure out why he was so irritated. 'What a strange woman,' he thought sullenly, 'I would try to break her, but she seems to be already broken.' He thought back to that emptiness he felt when he touched her with the force.

Lord Vader began working it all out in his mind. He was angry with the girl for having caught him completely off guard by her complex presentation, as well as surprising him with a vision straight off of Naboo. Why was he angry with her? 'I guess because she acted in a manner opposite from my expectations, and I am rarely wrong with my expectations… I was expecting to be angry… I was _looking forward_ to being angry.' The thoughts flowed from his mind like the steaming water that cascaded down his skin. 'I guess it makes sense that I am angry with her for that. I am angry because she caused me to act in a way I wasn't prepared.' His mind wandered over that point for a moment, finding it strange that she had pleased him, more than he had been in a long time, and he was feeling the need to rip her throat out for it! Instantly, a strange feeling invaded his chest… it was close to disappointment, but it wasn't that. 'It couldn't be,' thought Vader as he realized what he was feeling… anger at himself for wishing her ill will, shame for his ruthless want to destroy her simply because he was shocked that she had done well.

The young sith lord grew more and more uneasy with these new revelations. Hauling himself from the slick shower floor, he refused to think about it anymore, and busied himself with cleaning his body quickly and efficiently. As the fragrant musk soapsuds rinsed from his body he took several calming breaths. Turning off the faucet and wrapping a large black towel around his waist, he stepped from the shower and ran a second towel over his drenched golden locks.

Since his rise to power, Vader had found it harder & harder to find pleasure in anything. People who constantly aimed to please him but failed miserably in their attempts surrounded him. Beyond the incompetence of his subordinates, there was more that failed to bring him gratification. He no longer took pleasure in rich foods and wines. Luxurious accommodations gave him no satisfying comfort. Even beautiful women who were brought to him to use as he wished granted him no solace… as a matter of fact, he now refused all female companionship because he could not stand these gorgeous women who were nothing more than livestock to him. Their only purpose seemed to be sexual pursuits, and he had grown bored of them quickly, he secretly longed to discover at least a fraction of sense or knowledge in these girls.

Standing in front of the vanity mirror, he absentmindedly watched a single drop of water gradually slide down his torso. As it tumbled slowly over his taught stomach, an image popped into his mind from earlier in the day. He seemed to re-live the moment, his stomach making the same tiny leap as Aurren Farr sat down beside him and turned, her knee gently making contact with his leg.

'Fuck,' he thought. 'What the hell is going on with me?'

Drying off the last remnants of water, he left the 'fresher & grabbed a light pair of black sleep pants from his closet & pulled them on. He slid between the cold sheets on the bed & closed his eyes.

'Fuck,' he thought again. He reminded himself of the blight of unnecessary emotions. He could gain nothing from these emotions of shame & pity he felt- not just for the girl & the moment of hatred he felt for her because she had done nothing more than please him- but also for himself. They were unwanted emotions.

As sleep overtook him, he couldn't help linger just a bit longer on Miss Farr.


	6. Ch6 Self Escapism

self escapism

Lord Vader rose early the next morning, though the windows in his quarters failed to admit the dusky morning light he was used to on Coruscant. As much as he loved piloting any ship or speeder of any size, he despised living on one. He would much rather suffer through the scorching days on arid Tatooine with its twin suns than live in the deep cold quiet of space.

He dressed quickly in a simple dark blue tunic and brown leggings. Thoughtlessly he eased a pair of soft brown leather boots on & then ran his fingers through his shoulder length curls as he left his bedroom. Early mornings were the only time he could leave his quarters without being completely covered in his suffocating black guise. Most of the crew would still be asleep, and those who were awake would be busy working far away from his destination. The chance he would encounter someone in the halls was slim due to his ability to extend the force around as a warning device should anyone come along. On the chance that he ran into someone, he could always use a simple suggestion-a mind trick, to manipulate his or her mind to not remember or recognize his face.

Leaving his rooms, he quietly padded down the hallway towards the lift that would take him to the library and observatory on the top floor of the star ship. The empty lift sped him to the top, and signaling the end of the short trip with a tiny beep, the doors slid open. While keeping his continuing search with the force for anyone's approach, he thought over his plans for the day. He stepped through the doors of the library and was relieved to not sense anyone in the room. Aimlessly he wandered around the vast stacks of data pads and even a few real books, no real direction in mind. He would need to meet with his master this morning. Luckily, Palpatine would be joining him in his chambers, so he wouldn't need to wear the dreaded mask. As for the rest of the day, it would be taken at his leisure.

Rounding a corner, he left the stacks and drifted into the dark observatory. He strolled to the center of the room and looked up through the reinforced glass ceiling at the stars surrounding him. The observatory was located in the forward-most part of the ship, all the way at the top, and was constructed of a revolutionary type of glass that was stronger than dura-steel. The whole room was nothing but windows, & it was here that Vader would come when he was off world and needed to contemplate something. It gave him a sense of peace to see the never-ending expanse of black space, glowing from the lights of an infinite number of stars. Looking off into the darkness he was reminded of the power of the force, and the great gift he had in his ability to use and manipulate it.

As Lord Vader stood taking in the darkness, he felt something move behind him. He had not been warned by the force of another presence, and he turned quickly- his hand instinctively going to the handle of his lightsaber, ready to confront anything.

Or at least he thought anything.

Standing still in the doorway to the conservatory was a slight figure that was hard to make out in the dark. A solemn, feminine voice came from the figure as it backed out of the room. "I'm sorry sir, I didn't expect anyone else to be here, I'll be on my way."

It only took a second for Vader to realize that this voice belonged to the young woman who had caused him much distraction the previous day. He wondered why the force had not warned her of her presence. As she informed him that she would leave, he once again probed her with the force, and was once more taken aback by what he found.

He sensed at once her disappointment that someone else was in the observatory, and then sensed deeper. He felt her utter indifference to everything, but not outs of spite, out of some sort of necessity. He could feel the loneliness that she had tucked back into the deepest recesses of her spirit. He realized that her complete emptiness the day before was not due to the fact that she had no feelings, but rather that she refused to use them. She was not devoid of a soul, she was just genuinely empty. In better words, she was not one to give any of herself- or any part of herself- away. He felt tinge of sadness for her, but only for a moment.

Lord Vader watched her turn and walk away when suddenly unbidden words left his mouth, "No, please, do not mind me, stay."

The girl stopped and looked back at him over her shoulder. With the only light being that which came from the stars outside, the man in front of her seemed to eerily glow, framed by the massive windows. Cautiously, she turned and edged closer. As he came more into focus the closer she got, she was taken aback by the young man before her.

Tall… well-built… beautiful shoulder length golden hair that seemed to be barely tamed due to its curl. It was the flash of blue from his eyes that eventually stopped her. Aurren Farr was a young woman who prided herself on her great ability to appreciate beauty. The man that stood before her was most certainly a work of art.

Without her saying a single word, the young lord felt her uneasiness spreading out in waves. She had gotten a good look at him and not seemed shocked or as if she had seen a ghost. She did not recognize the face of Anakin Skywalker, and he was pleased. This meant that he could spend a few moments possibly trying to figure out the girl without her being aware that she was in the same room as Darth Vader.

Aurren walked past him cautiously and stopped a few feet from the windows, looking silently out.

He followed the girl, stopping just behind her, his eyes wandering down her body in the dim light. He noticed that she was not in the boring gray crew uniform, but wore something he decided suited her much better as it failed to hide any of her curves.

As he stood there silently, he was shocked to realize that she was so… small. She had a thin, trim but curvy figure. Her hair hung loosely to the middle of her back over the thin white tunic she wore. Her legs were clad in tight, dark blue leggings met by very warm brown boots that rose to her knees. Slung about her hips was a black belt that held a small military issue blaster and 2 communication devices. He followed the line the belt made across her backside, and took a moment to appreciate the view with a smile.

A wave of apprehension washed over Vader. Was he nervous about being around this girl? _What!_. This was just another of those unnecessary emotions. As if day turned into night, his mood drastically changed as an unknown frustration began to boil his blood.

Reaching out in front of him, he roughly grabbed the girls shoulder and turned her around. He was met by those large black eyes, and he felt the fear that washed over her from his sudden attack. He looked directly into those deep black eyes and said "you did not encounter anyone this morning in the observatory. You never saw me."

As if in a daze, she slowly repeated after him, "I did not encounter anyone this morning in the observatory."

It took a great deal of concentration to get his mental suggestion across to her, she was a particularly strong willed girl. He almost felt sorry for his manipulation, but then decided it was for the best.

"You will return to your quarters now," he said, and she repeated, "I will return to my quarters now."

Slowly, as confusion spread across her face, Aurren left the room.

Upon returning to her quarters, Aurren snapped out of the daze she was in. She looked behind her as she got the strange feeling someone was watching. She was well aware that she had just gone to the observatory as she always did when she woke early in the morning and could not sleep. What she didn't know was why she had returned to her rooms. It was as if it had completely slipped her mind.

'I must be loosing it,' she thought, flopping limply into an armchair. In her mind, she retraced her steps. There seemed to be a blank spot spanning from the moment she entered the observatory to when she finally reached her quarters. A voice in the back of her head whispered that she had gone to the observatory, and not seen anyone, then returned to her quarters. It didn't seem right. Closing her eyes and resting her forehead against the side of the chair, she tried to shake it off. Sure, she might have forgotten what she was doing, but it wasn't as if it were important. Behind her lids, Aurren pictured the dramatic view of space the observatory gave. She focused on 2 distant stars that seemed to be glowing blue. Without a warning, the stars were replaced with a pair of chilling, ice blue eyes.

Snapping her eyes open, Aurren sat still for a moment then broke out in a fit of laughter. 'I have _got_ to get more sleep!' she thought then rose and made her way to the fresher to prepare herself for the day.

In the observatory, Darth Vader stood staring blindly at the floor. In the dark swirling mess that was his mind, he tried to convince himself that the only reason he had acted the way he had was because of his not so recent lack of interest in not just physical pursuits with women, but women in general. He had grown to hate the gender, no matter what species they were. The ones he was constantly surrounded with were either all looks and no brains, or dowdy, boring servants and crewmembers. It had been a long, long time since he had met a woman who possessed a kind of fire inside, or a woman who's intellect matched her beauty, or even one he could simply hold a decent conversation with. Women were inferior.

Women infuriated him.

No, Aurren Farr infuriated him.

He had been way too content during his long dry stretch in which he had sworn off all women. He had been good at it. This woman had somehow slipped through the cracks. So it only made sense to him that his reaction to her was simply his body reminding him that he was a man, and not because there was any part of her that actually deserved his attention.

'Yes, that's it' he thought. 'As if I am going to let my body dictate my actions…'

He withdrew from the observatory and glanced at the large chrono on the library wall. He had spent more time here than he intended to. He could feel the ship beginning to stir.

Making his way quickly back to his quarters, Vader's thoughts lingered once more on what had happened in the observatory. With a snort, he thought, 'I would rather loose my other arm before I touched another stupid woman.'

* * *

_ive got a few more chapters ready to go... i mostly just write for myself & decided to post this on here for fun since i read everyones elses fics so often- figured i'd contribute. it's not done yet, & at the moment im contemplating making it into a Vader redemtion story, even though that wasnt my initial intent. id appreciate any thoughts anyone might have about where _you_ think the story seems to be going._

_the rating of this fic will increase to M in future chapters. & again, some concrit would be cool._


	7. Ch7 Stop Haunting Me

7.stop haunting me

As the next few days passed, Aurren absorbed herself in her work. She quickly forgot about her blackout in the observatory, and spent long hours over the drafting table in her office.

After 5 days, Aurren began to wonder when Lord Vader would contact her. She found herself thinking distantly about him often. The man behind the mask intrigued her. She lingered on her recollection of his voice, deep and smooth. She wondered who he really was.

Was he a former leader from the Republic? Maybe he was one of the great war hero's from the clone wars. She had heard that some of the hero's of the great fleet had been greatly disfigured. Or perhaps he was a nobody. Not a nobody per se, but a nobody more like her, he could have started out much as she had- from nothing. As a child, she used to wonder about the past lives of the great leaders around the galaxy. She couldn't help but feel a trace of sadness at all of the pasts she made up for him. There was no doubt he was a great and powerful man now. But was he a really a great man? What does it take for a person to turn into the man who the world knew as Darth Vader, Sith Lord? Maybe he didn't turn into it… maybe he was it all along.

Aurren wondered about the age of the man in the suit. His strong walk and sturdy build seemed to suggest that he was fairly young and healthy- but then why wear the disguise? She mused about possible deformations or injuries.

A loud beep pulled her from her daydreaming suddenly. Looking around her desk to find the offending comm link, she located it and answered, "Farr here"

"Miss Farr," a deep voice resonated from the tiny device, "I expect to see you in my quarters in one hour. Bring your renderings."

"Yes my lord," Aurren replied, then ended the communication. With that, she then began gathering all of the things she would need to bring with her to meet with Lord Vader.

The 5 days since their last encounter had not gone as quickly for the sith lord as it had the architect. He had spent hours pouring over the vast amounts of highly detailed information contained on the small holo-disk she had given him, as well as being stunned with the amount of research she had done on the security systems. Hours passed as he virtually toured the palace she had created for him, and in that time he had memorized every room. Not being a man who was very fashion savvy, he would have had no idea how to decorate this place, and he was glad she had already considered it. Even though he couldn't design a room himself, he still had very fastidious taste. His only problem with her presentation was that when it came to the decorations and color schemes she had created, he couldn't choose which one he liked better.

The security dossier went to further impress him. Not only had she the brains to understand complex weapons and defense systems, but she had also designed a completely concealed perimeter control system that could raise blaster shields around the entire compound in under 30 seconds.

It wasn't just her work that kept his mind on Aurren Farr. When he closed his eyes at night he felt like he could feel her emptiness- and it made him feel empty… and lonely. For the first time in what seemed like forever, he found himself concerned over the welfare of someone who was not he. Moreover, he wondered why he should waste his time and thoughts on someone that he didn't even know… a woman for that matter!

The young dark lord spent most of his time stewing in his quarters over his uncontrollable thoughts of the architect. He discovered that more and more often during the night, when he would feel her emptiness creep under his skin, that he wished there were a way he could fill up whatever hole left her so barren- if only so that he would no longer feel it in his dreams.

Pacing the length of his bed, Vader tried to decide what to do. His introspection stretched back to the meeting with the emperor 4 days ago. He had informed his master that he had approved the new palace project, much to the surprise of Palpatine. His master then told him to decide where he would like his new estate, and it would be his. Naboo was his first thought, but he quickly dashed it from his head. It had been hard enough for him to be on the planet where his dead wife had been buried the last and only time he had traveled there after the rise of the Empire. He needed somewhere equally beautiful & sublime. He settled on Alderaan. He thought back to the time he had accompanied senator Bail Organa back to his home planet & how much it had reminded him of Naboo.

It was the emperor's next suggestion that was causing his current turmoil. He suggested (which was his way of commanding his young apprentice) that Vader go to Alderaan and acquire a location. Further more, he _suggested_ that he take his architect & designer with him. Palpatine knew that Vader would need someone with technical knowledge to help him select a spot that would be appropriate for the palace, and Aurren Farr was the only option if he wanted to maintain secrecy.

It had been very hard for Vader to hold his tongue, to keep from lashing out with dissent at his master's _suggestion_. The thought of having Miss Farr as a companion… in fact his only companion… on a mission that could last months terrified him, and he had no idea why.

The trip had been planned and set immediately. For the next 4 days Vader tried to motivate himself to contact the young architect and inform her that she would be accompanying him to Alderaan. For 4 days, Vader failed to strike up the will to even create a holo-message and send it to her. Now, as he paced back and forth at the foot of his bed, he _had _to tell her. Their transport was leaving in less than 2 hours.

Calming himself momentarily, he hastily grabbed for his comm link and buzzed Aurren.

A soft, lilting voice responded after a short beep, "Farr here"

Steeling himself, Vader spoke quickly. "Miss Farr, I expect to see you in my quarters in one hour. Bring your renderings."

A slightly deeper, firmer voice responded, "Yes my lord." and then disconnected.

Lord Vader replaced the comm link on his utility belt, and then moved into the fresher, quickly pushing a few buttons to open the closet his mask and cloak resided in. He felt a familiar disgust well up in his chest as he jerked the cloak from the mannequin. He wondered how he would maintain his sanity touring the Alderiaan countryside, not just with the girl, but covered in this heavy, black disguise.

* * *

_thoughts? anyone?_


	8. CH8 Silent Discomfort

_thanks for the reviews. i pondered the fic this weekend, im already ahead by a few chapters. i think i will go with the redemption, as well as nat making the ending sad, but its going to get really angsty along the way. ALSO PLEASE NOTE- this is extremely AU. I have tried to find a way to work the following things into the story, but it just is too much, so here is a quick summary of what has changed from cannon._

_Anakin did have the dreams of padme dying, & he got manipulated by palpatine.Afterpalpatine sendsAnakin to execute order 66, he tells Anakin that padme's child is not his, that she had been cheating on him- which sets him off worse since he did it allto save her life. He goes to Mustafarjust like in the movie,& padme arrives. she doesnt know that anakin knows sheis cheating on him. Obi-Wan had visited padme, & snuck aboard her ship.Padme & Anakin argue, Anakin assumes that it was Obi-Wan she was cheating on him with when he seesObi-Wan on the ship. He force chokes padme- but does not kill her- palpatine later tells him that he killed her (all lies!). Obi-Wan & Anakin fight- Obi-Wan thinks Anakin dies._

_Any questions? reviews are really appreciated! _

* * *

8. Silent Discomfort

It took Aurren almost the entire hour to get her stuff together. She couldn't help but wonder why she would be meeting him in his quarters, even though she was finding that she was happy that she might get a chance to view his rooms first hand and get a better idea of his likes. Gazing at her faint reflection in the glass windows, she wished she had enough time to go change into her uniform. She wasn't required to wear it at all times, but she felt more comfortable in it when she had to deal with her superiors.

Rushing down the long dim corridors, she tried to remember if she had everything. 'Oh, never mind,' she thought as she realized she had meant to bring her watercolor pencils in case he wished her to sketch something. The clock she had just passed told her she only had 15 minutes until she would be late, and she had every intention of being early.

Stationed at the outer doors to his rooms stood two armed guards. As she approached, the guards opened the doors and granted her admittance without a word being said. 'Strange…' she thought, 'he must have told them I was coming or something…"

Walking towards the inner doors, she felt her stomach make a sudden leap. She was nervous.

Once again, before she reached to doors, they opened for her, but instead of by a guard, these seemed to open of their own accord.

Inside she saw Lord Vader seated in an armchair with one of the senior chiefs at his shoulder, and they were involved in a quiet conversation. As she entered, he looked up to her and said coolly, "I see you are early Miss Farr." "Please have a seat,' he said with a sweep of his arm towards the black leather couch to her left, "The Admiral and I are just finishing up."

Aurren cautiously sat down at the end of the couch furthest from the two men, holding her renderings and drafting tools in her lap. She suddenly became very interested in her feet as she tried not to be bothersome to the two men who spoke to each other in whispers. She traced the lines and creases in her boots with her eyes, then moved down to the carpet where she tried to memorize its intricate pattern.

Without warning, she felt a hand on her shoulder and bolted upright. Her heart felt as if it would pound right out of her chest as she looked down and saw a black gloved hand on her left shoulder. He was standing behind her.

"Have you found something interesting in my carpet Miss Farr" came a somewhat amused voice from behind.

She shot to her feet without thinking, "No my lord… I mean yes… well, I mean…" Upon standing up, she forgot about the items in her lap, and they fell roughly to the floor.

Immediately she dropped to her knees and began picking up the renderings that fell loose from the folder, only to see that Vader had also bent to help her retrieve her things. "I am so sorry my lord, there is no excuse for my clumsiness," she said meekly as she picked up the final drawing.

She glanced over at the kneeling man and discovered that he was looking back at her… at least she thought he was looking at her behind the mask. He stood rather gracefully, and outstretched a hand to her, intending to help her off of the floor.

A deep blush spread over Aurren's face as she humbly took his hand and was surprised, as he seemed to haul her effortlessly from the carpet. Thankfully, he broke the silence.

"I am sure you are wondering why I had you meet me here," he said.

"No my lord, I am happy to serve you, wherever you would like to meet," she replied.

"That's good then, because you will be accompanying me to Alderaan to scout out land for the estate you are planning for me."

Mild bewilderment was the only emotion she felt. It didn't surprise her too greatly, she knew that she would most likely be needed to help pick a location that would suit her design. It was just that… well… she didn't know what it was.

"Of course my lord," Aurren said, "when should I be prepared to depart?"

"We leave immediately," was his reply.

"Then I will only need a few moments to gather my things, sir," she said as her mind tried to run quickly through all the things she would need to bring.

"There is no need for that, everything you need will be provided for you, do not be concerned."

A sort of panic began to climb into her chest. The realization that she was leaving the ship for the first time since the rise of the empire that wouldn't involve inspecting military bases in the middle or war zones sunk in. Not only that, but they would be going to Alderaan.

Alderaan.

She never intended to return, especially to the beautiful countryside, where she was certain Vader intended to look. She stood lost in distraction mere inches away from him. In her minds eye, as the thought of returning crossed her, she could see the wildflowers floating in her parent's blood.

Noticing her apparent distraction, he used the force to figure out why she was so befuddled. The only thing he could pick up on was a vision of a small girl sitting on a wood floor surrounded by blood and flowers. It was disturbing, even for him.

Vader was saved from having to shake Aurren out of her stupor by a sudden beeping from his comm link.

Startled, she took the opportunity to move discreetly away from him as he answered the call.

"You had better be contacting me to tell me we are ready to depart."

A slightly frightened sounding voice replied, "Y-Y-Yes my lord. Your personal cruiser has already gone through the pre-flight inspections and the engines are running."

Without another word, Vader ended the call & turned to Aurren.

"Well Miss Farr, we are now to be stuck together," he said rather bitterly. Turning to leave, he stopped and turned back to her. Stretching his arm with strange elegance in her direction he said, "We might as well attempt to make the most of it," and then motioned her to take his arm. He meant to escort her personally to the ship.

Placing her folio cautiously under her left arm, she timidly reached out & folded her arm through his, closing her fingers lightly just under his elbow. He led her away in long slow strides. She noticed that he had consciously slowed from his normal pace to compensate for Aurren's much shorter stride. As he guided her silently through the corridors, she thought absently about how she would probably have to jog to keep up with his regular pace…

After a short ride in a lift and one further corridor, they reached the Emperor's private hanger bay on the star ship. Parked inside was a gigantic, sleek silver cruiser. The hanger crew scurried off of the ship and stood at attention, waiting for Vader to approach. He placed his right hand- his mechanical hand, gently over Aurren's as he felt it loosen its grip on his arm, then guided her towards the ship. Stopping in front of the men, he addressed the ranking officer.

"Lieutenant, I do hope you have everything prepared as I ordered."

"Yes my lord, you are cleared for departure."

"Very good," he replied, then leading Aurren once again, he turned to board the ship.

Once inside, he waited until he had led her all the way to the cockpit to release her arm. Seating himself in the pilot's chair her turned to her and spoke briefly.

"Please, sit," he said, motioning to the co-pilot's seat.

She sat down and watched as he began flipping switches, turning knobs and raising levers. She began to worry as she realized that he would be piloting this enormous cruiser. 'Are you kidding me?' she thought, 'how can he pilot this thing, I'm sure he can hardly see out of that horrible mask!'

As she finished that thought, she heard what she swore was a laugh. Looking to Vader seated at her left, she realized that he was indeed… laughing. Had she said that out loud? No, she couldn't have…

"Do not worry about my ability to pilot this craft Miss Farr," he said, sounding highly amused. Aurren could feel the heat rising to her cheeks. "I can assure you, despite my appearance- and this '_horrible mask'_- I could drive this ship better than any other pilot in the galaxy, _with my eyes closed._"

What… how was this possible. Had he somehow heard her thoughts? How…

"The same way I could pilot this ship with my eyes closed. I use the force."

Aurren didn't say another word after that as she tried not to think about what that implied. She watched out of the front windows as they left the hanger bay and he programmed their course to Alderaan.

It wasn't until they had entered hyperspace that another sound was uttered.

"Feel free, Miss Farr, to explore the ship. It will be several hours until we reach Alderaan. Help yourself to anything you wish. There is a bedroom prepared for you near the back. I will alert you when we arrive."

Aurren was mildly stunned. He was treating her as if she were… his guest. It was completely unexpected, everything she had ever heard about the infamous Darth Vader was that he was cruel and calculating and cared not for the well being- and certainly not the comfort- of anyone else. He was a sith lord, the right hand man of Emperor Palpatine, the _most feared_ person in the galaxy. It just didn't make sense. Why was he concerning himself with her at all, trying as he was to treat her as if she were… a lady? Picking up on this thought, Vader addressed her again.

"I do not deny, Miss Farr, that I use my power, that I create fear in the hearts of men, to get what I want," he said, looking straight at her. "But there is a reason for everything I do. I do not accept disrespect or disobedience from anyone, and I punish it as I see fit to keep it from reoccurring. There is _no such thing_ as _fair_ in this galaxy."

She couldn't look away from him. Even though she couldn't see his eyes, she could _feel_ them burning through her.

"The reason I treat you as I do, _Miss Farr_," he continued, "is because you _are _a lady. You were commissioned to do a project- which I shall tell you now, no one expected you to succeed- and not only did you do well, but you did better than well. It has been years since I have been sincerely pleased by anyone. Not only did you go above and beyond, but also you have been a faithful and completely willing assistant who has not once betrayed an ounce of disrespect… " He said, stopping momentarily, then continued in a questioning voice. "And not once have I felt that you actually fear me – and its not because you are unaware of the fact that I could take your life with the same ease as you might take a breath."

Aurren couldn't help but tear her eyes away from him as he said that. He had an offhanded way of complimenting someone… if that was what this was supposed to be.

"I suggest that you retire now, my lady," he said with a harsh edge to his voice, "and as long as you continue to show me the same respect and obedience you have thus far, I will gladly return the same upon you."

"Yes my lord," Aurren said quietly, almost ashamedly.

She rose to leave, and as she walked out of the cockpit he spoke once more.

"As I said earlier, we are stuck together." She looked over her shoulder at him as he went on, "I do not enjoy being surrounded by sniveling, underhanded imbeciles- those that I am normally forced to spend most of my time with. For the first time in years I have a project before me that might grant me a chance to find some leisure, and the only being I have to deal with or concern myself about it _you._"

She turned fully to him at this.

"Luckily for me… and even more for you, _you_ are _not_ a sniveling, underhanded imbecile. I am not sure what you are actually, but I will find out. Once again, as I said, we might as well attempt to make the most of it."

A strange sense of… relief? bathed over her. He hadn't exactly told her he wanted her around, but he didn't seem to be too disturbed by the fact she would be with him for… well, she didn't know how long.

"I am sorry that I failed to inform you further on the nature of this trip, please forgive me. I will brief you further once we are settled on Alderaan." he stated.

He had done it again… she wanted him out of her mind… even though she had nothing to hide from him.

A short, deep laugh came from Vader, "Allow me to apologize once again Miss Farr, I am sure you have nothing to hide from me, but I cannot help but try to understand you. I will try to refrain from invading your thoughts in the future," he said, with a tinge of warning in his voice, "but I will not tell you that I will never do it again. You can remember that I am a man of my word."

"Yes my lord… thank you," was all she could say. She bowed her head and left the cockpit, in search of what, she wasn't sure… but sleep seemed like the best idea.

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_stay tuned! next chapter- Vader's thoughts about his words to Aurren... he's not very happy about it. angst ahoy! r&r!_


	9. Ch9 What Came Over Him?

_Angst Ahead! The reviews I have gotten so far have been great. More reviews happy writer! Happy writerawesome(r) fic!_

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9. What came over him?

Seated in the cockpit of the sleek, silver cruiser, Darth Vader tried to understand why he had felt the need to… what was it that he had done? Reveal a part of himself to her? He couldn't discern why he had said so _much_ to her.

For the past 4 days Aurren Farr had perplexed him, so much so that he could not contact her immediately to inform her of their excursion but waited until the last possible minute when he could no longer procrastinate on it. Indeed, since their meeting in the Observatory in the wee hours of the morning 4 days ago, he hadn't been able to shake the apparent _shame_ he felt by manipulating her in one of the basest forms by using a mind trick. He had actually felt _shame, remorse, contrition, guilt_, whatever you wanted to call it. He just couldn't fathom it, he had done that- and worse- to many others, and he never once felt as if he had done something wrong. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that his sudden and not at all censored words to the young woman were not just a means to comfort and calm her, but he truly meant it, not matter how backwards the statements came out… and he knew that she understood what he had intended.

At that thought, he stopped himself once more. 'I guess I did feel the need to comfort her… but why?'

He replayed his words to her in his mind. He had told her that he considered her a lady. He sensed her stun at that. She must not have ever considered herself a lady. But why shouldn't she? At 26, this young architect had accomplished more than most twice, even three times her age. He had researched the various bases and command centers she had developed, and was greatly impressed with the structures. She obviously had a strong understanding of technical devices and machinery that the vast majority of those who lived and worked at her bases lacked- but she had tackled that problem as well, manipulating each of the systems so that actual knowledge of _how_ everything worked could be left to those who maintained the system, making it easy enough for the all brawn and little brain staff to work easily.

He had great admiration her depth of technical knowledge. He recalled the excitement he had gotten when he began to read through the security dossier she had prepared for him. He knew there was no way she would know that he was technically inclined as she prepared the document for him, and he appreciated that she had both tried to explain the systems in layman's terms without dumbing it down, as well as included all the highly difficult specifications detailing all of the aspects of each system. He found it highly respectful. She was _definitely_ a lady, with all of the intelligence, grace, respect and… and even beauty that a lady should have.

She had impressed him.

He sighed deeply and leaned back into the chair, closing his eyes, wishing that he could remove his abominable mask. No, how had she put it… oh yes…"_horrible mask."_

The young lord seethed for a moment over the disguise. He had not questioned it when his master had first placed this mask over his head. At the time, when the galaxy was in shock over the fall of the Jedi, the rise of the empire, and all of the sudden drastic changes, he believed it to be a good idea. He had a hard enough time looking into the mirror and encountering the face of Anakin Skywalker. He was no longer that man. But now, he had grown tired of it. Now he was Darth Vader, and Vader was the towering, feared, black masked man he was right now…_or was he_?

He knew it was hopeless to try to conceive a way to rid himself of his ruse. He knew that the majority of the galaxy feared the empire, but knew as well that they also had a hard time believing that the Jedi- those who pledged their lives and their gifts selflessly to protect them- had deserved the declaration that they were traitors _or_ their calculated extermination.

A memory of an epic fight with his one time master- and hero- Obi-Wan Kenobi flashed before his eyes. The way they fought each other amidst the flames and lava on Mustafar. How their battle was more like an intricate dance, each of them refusing to give any ground, but also refusing to strike the other down. The way he deceived his old master, making him believe that he had plunged to a harrowing death in a fiery pit. He could hear the pain in Obi-Wan's voice as he screamed… no, cried in anguish to the pit below.

"_You were my **brother** Anakin! I **LOVED **you!"_

…The way he had _smiled_ as he gripped tightly to the rocks in the crevice he had concealed himself in as Obi-Wan suffered on the cliff above. The way he felt the darkness swirl around him as Obi-Wan cried unabashedly for his former padawan. The way he felt not a drop of remorse for anyone, they had all turned their back on him, they had lied to him, they had not trusted him, and for all of his power-they never really believed he was "The Chosen One."

'Except for maybe Obi-Wan,' Vader thought distantly.

He pulled himself from that train of thought. 'Except for Obi-Wan?' It was the very first time since accepting Emperor Palpatine -Darth Sidious as his new master that Vader had let a notion like that cross his mind. 'No' he thought distantly, "Obi-Wan turned his back on me… Obi-Wan knew about Padme-knew what she had done and he was on her side… Obi-Wan could have supported me when I told him that I didn't want to spy on Palpatine… Obi-Wan…"

A voice he didn't recognize as his own whispered in the back of his mind, "but Palpatine _was_ the Sith…"

He felt his blood begin to boil and run like fire through his veins. Standing suddenly, he forced back his previous thoughts and released his self-pity as he let his anger rage through him.

He checked the controls distractedly to make sure everything was functioning properly and the ship was on the correct course then stormed out of the cockpit. Vader slowed his steps as he remembered that Aurren was on board… somewhere. He wondered where she was, what she was doing.

'I'm doing it again,' he thought. 'Why do I _care_ what the girl is doing?'

Before he knew it, he had reached the back of the ship near the sleeping quarters. He stood at the end of the hall between two doorways. On his left were his private quarters, which could only be opened by code. On his right was the room he had prepared for Aurren, and he could feel her sleeping inside.

He stood there, staring at the door as if he wished to murder it. He didn't want to go in there. But he couldn't help the overwhelming compulsion to do so anyway.

Ever since he was a child, he had never been one who had much self-control. If he felt the need to do something, no matter what it was, he did it. It was something Vader had struggled with since his days as a Jedi, but it was also something that had been nurtured and fed by the Sith.

A battle seemed to be raging inside his mind. One side of him was disgusted by his unwanted attraction and concern for the architect, a mere girl who worked for the empire- she worked for him! He should not be impressed and show her kindness simply because she had done as she was _told_. He was a SITH. He had no time, or need for the frivolity of tender feelings. The other side of him, also seemed to be driven by the Sith. It told him to take what he wanted, whatever it was, whenever he wanted it. And if he wanted the girl, then he would have her, no matter what she thought about it.

As this war was fought in his head, there was another voice, one that was small that seemed to come deep inside a part of his mind he had long forgot about, that made him think about her without him even realizing it. It made him concerned for her well being. It made him ashamed of his past behavior. It was what allowed him to speak those words to her in the cockpit. It was driving him crazy.

The young lord hadn't realized he had begun walking again until he found himself once more in the cockpit.

He slid into the seat and cleared his mind. Meditation was not something he really enjoyed or was even very good at, but it was better than any other alternative of what to do with his time. It dawned on him as he opened himself up, and waited for the warm, bright light to bathe him, that he hadn't meditated once, not once since he made that trip to Mustafar by order of his master 5 years ago.

On the long trip he felt like he was suffocating as the darkness enveloped him. He couldn't believe he had actually led a clone army into the temple and watched them destroy it. When the shocked Jedi engaged them, he saw the faces of people he knew. Though they could not identify him from under his black hood, they knew it was a Jedi by the ignited light saber. As the first one attacked him, he realized that he could not do this with his own hands. With a force push, he threw the knight across the room, then retreated to watch as the clones ruthlessly filled the air with blaster fire killing them all, even the younglings who cowered in the creche or slept in their cribs. He watched as if it were not real, and as the last one fell and the temple was consumed in flames, he returned to his master and told him that he had executed his command. He never told Palpatine that he did not take a single Jedi's life, and Palpatine never asked. He only looked to the swirling, crimson and gold clouds in his eyes to see that he had fulfilled his wish.

As the darkness and confusion and rage filled him, he attempted to meditate, but he simply could not find the light. He was desperate for it; as if being able to see it- touch it- _feel_ it would make everything better. It never appeared. He felt as if the calm of the force had also turned his back on him, and in turn decided to turn his back on it, embracing the dark side.

That was the very last time. And now, here he was again, meditating… how had he forgotten that the light of the force had deserted him? How could he even begin to think that it might have returned to him… what was he…

And then suddenly, behind his eyelids, he felt a gradually building warmth breaking through the ice. He slowed his breathing instinctively and tuned his senses into that warmth. The warmth increased in intensity and his skin pebbled at the sensation. It began to pulse steadily, slowly, deliberately; and his body rhythms slowed to the same beat. Soon the darkness seemed to glow around him and then…

Darth Vader emerged into the light- and slipped into its soothing embrace like a child as it cradled him in its celestial arms.

He stayed there for a long time, lost and dumbstruck. He didn't question it. He didn't even think. He simply basked in the light and let it run through his core. He felt it ease his tension. He felt like he was somehow home.

He would have stayed there forever if he could have. Unfortunately, a far off beeping sound invaded his sanctuary. It gradually grew louder as the light began to fade, and the cold began to reclaim its ground from the warmth.

Snapping his eyes open, he realized the beeping was from the navigation system. They were nearing the end of hyperspace.

He took to the controls and disengaged the autopilot as Alderaan hovered in front of him, a glowing blue, green and white orb. From space, it looked like paradise.

Approaching the planet, he contacted the hanger at the private villa the empire had bought and established as his base of operations for this trip. He asked the staff if everything was prepared to his specifications, and if the hanger was ready for his arrival. He then ordered them to leave the compound. A staff was unnecessary. They were only needed to prepare the estate for his arrival. He had a virtual army of protocol and staff droids to take care of any of their needs.

Lord Vader landed the ship gently, expertly in the vast empty hanger. Powering down the ship, he set off to inform Miss Farr that they had arrived.

Reaching the door to her cabin, he felt her still inside, sleeping. He knocked lightly on the door. "Miss Farr, we have arrived on Alderaan." She didn't even stir. He knocked slightly louder, "Miss Farr… Miss Farr?" Nothing.

Slowly he entered the room, and saw her lying on top of the rich crimson silk comforter. She was lying on her side, curled in slightly, clutching a pillow tightly to her chest. Her hair was spread across the pillow, the warm natural light flooding into the hanger and then through the large window over the bed caused it to shimmer like gold. Even her skin was luminous in this pure sunlight and glistened as white and clean as pearls. He wanted to touch that skin that looked like satin, trail his fingers down the contour of her face until they reached those plush, plump, slightly parted, perfectly red lips. He wanted to…

Seating himself on the bed he continued to take her in, to view her in ways he hadn't yet been able to. The elegant arch of her neck. The pout of those lips. The way her tiny nose turned up just slightly at the end. Her delicate clavicle. The curve of her breasts, her waist, her hips, her legs…

Aurren stirred slightly, and the trance was broken. He felt her still deep in sleep, and could not bring himself to wake her like this. He felt like some sort of low-life, sitting here while she slept, staring at her body as if she was some form of meat and he was the hungry dog. It was wrong. It felt too personal, too _intimate_.

He rose gently so as not to stir her, and exited the room. He decided to wake her gently with the force, and once he felt her begin to come-to, knock on the door.

Inside, Aurren woke gently. She opened her eyes, only to have them assaulted by sunlight… glorious, beautiful sunlight. Then she realized where she was. On Vader's ship. On Alderaan. She shot up as she heard a light knock on the door, followed by a voice.

"Miss Farr, we have arrived on Alderaan."

She rose and smoothed down her clothing, then ran her fingers through her hair. It had somehow come down when she was sleeping. She glanced to the bed, and did not see the band she held her hair up with.

"Damn," she thought.

And then she heard the voice again, "Miss Farr?" There was something different about his voice, she thought, then replied, "Yes, my lord" as she opened the door.

The same masked man she had left with appeared in front of her, but something about his stance… his voice… his aura seemed different. Softer. As if something about the trip here took some of the edge off of him.

His first thought when he looked at her was that her hair was longer that he thought it was, and that she should really wear it down more often. Then he noticed the way she looked at him, her dark eyes wide with wonder, and snapped out of it.

"You look well rested, my lady" it rolled off his tongue so easily.

"Yes my lord, thank you," she replied, and he noticed a tinge of red dust her cheeks.

He offered her his arm in the same manner he did in his quarters on the star ship, this time without the hint of disgust in his voice. "Shall we, then?" he asked.

"Yes my lord, of course," was her only reply, but as he reached out and took her hand, guiding it around his arm, and then resting his other hand over hers, he felt her flesh pebble under his touch, as her nervousness rolled off of her in waves.

She felt a sudden sense of calm invade her, and she was relieved. Little did she know that the masked man that was guiding her off of the cruiser and towards one of the most beautiful villas she had ever seen was using the force to calm her.

"Here we are," he said, as they took the last step off of the ramp.

Aurren couldn't help but smile as she took it all in.

Vader couldn't help but notice her smile, as it seemed to fill him up, getting goosebumps himself. 'That is something else she should do more often,' he thought, 'smile,' as they casually strolled towards the house.

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_It seems our young sith lord has begun to see the light again..._


	10. Ch10 Home Sweet Home

_Thanks again for the reviews. Ive got twists & turns planned! & Thank you for reading!_

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10.Home sweet home

It was early spring on the hemisphere of Alderaan that Vader and Aurren had landed on. The mountain peaks were still white with snow and the ground was slowly thawing as the wildflowers began showing their faces. The scent of sweet jessamine flowers lingered on the soft cool breeze. But it was the sheer amount of green and vastness of space that sent Aurren reeling. It wasn't just that she was on Alderaan for the first time in 10 years… it was more that she had not taken a single breath of pure fresh air, feasted her eyes on lush full trees and soft green grass in that long. _Oh_, and those vast open spaces.

Though Aurren's quarters on the starship were not small by any means (that was the one perk of her whole job), her first sight of the vast valleys surrounding her and the mountain peaks further off were enough to make her never want to go back on that hunk of metal ever again. She was so caught up in fact, that she didn't even realize that her and Vader seemed to just stroll, aimlessly towards the rear of the enormous home before them. And the home!

Stretched out before her was what appeared to be a very old estate, something that must have once belonged to ancient Alderiaan royalty. It was constructed of massive grayish-blue stones, topped with columns and railings finely carved in pure white marble. The architect in her was in awe. She _itched_ to get inside this place and explore.

None of this slipped past the Dark Lord. He had read about the home the empire had acquired for him and the architect and had thought that she would enjoy it. He just didn't realize that he would enjoy _her_ joy over the place.

The hedge lined walkway from the hanger to the back grounds of the estate twisted and turned and eventually led to a crystal clear pool that looked more like a grotto with all of the rocks and moss and cascading water. He led her silently towards the huge veranda that reached out from the back of the home and up the stairs. They stopped in front of a slightly foggy glass door. As Vader pressed a few buttons on a number pad, Aurren tried to see through the doors. She was interrupted as he finally spoke to her.

"The security code is 3 4 0 9 Alpha Zed, then press the green button. If for any reason you find yourself locked out and cannot get in, please contact me immediately via your comm link and I will make sure you are taken care of."

He eased open the door and led her into the mysterious glass room. The inside was awash with green. In fact, it seemed as if someone had planted a tiny rainforest in this strange, vaulted glass room. She thought it was fantastic. The damp heat of the room sunk into her chilled skin and warmed her up.

"This, as you can see, is the greenhouse. And… through this way…" he said, leading her towards another doorway, "Ah, yes, this is the kitchen."

She was immediately assaulted by the sights and smells around her. Someone had taken great effort to prepare enough food for a small army, and as far as Aurren could tell, no one was in this house. Though the food was one attraction of this room, it was the room itself that she was devouring. Someone had taken a very gentle, loving hand to modernize this ancient home. The wooden floors under her feet had not been sanded smooth and completely re-done, but waxed gently, layer after layer until it was as soft as satin. The counters and surrounds were beautiful black granite with gold and silver and green flecks. All of the modern conveniences seemed to be tastefully hidden behind delicately restored cabinets and cupboards. The best part though, at least to Aurren, had to be the massive stone hearth that glowed and crackled with a happy fire. Two short, plump armchairs with soft blankets draped over them and a glowing wooden table sat on top of some sort of white fur rug. She wished she could snuggle up there with a hot cup of tea.

She looked up and noticed Lord Vader simply standing there, rather patiently Aurren thought, if you could imagine how a disguised person could look patient. She had gotten caught up in the detail of the room and forgotten herself.

"I am sorry my lord, I have gotten carried away with myself. This house is just…beautiful." The last word came out airy and almost breathless.

Vader could not help the smile that spread across his face, he didn't even think about it. "I am glad that you are pleased Miss Farr. There is much, much more. Please, follow me.

He lead her through a massive set of double doors off the kitchen and into a room that simply glowed due to the fire and candle light, as well as rays from the brilliant red and orange and pink and purple sunset in full view out of the wall of windows at the end. It was a magnificent dining room with the banquet table set for two.

Only it wasn't this that Aurren saw when she entered the room. The glow of the sunset drew her towards the windows, where she saw something she hadn't seen in 20 years. And now, now it was so close she felt like she could touch it. A strange pang hit Aurren as she stared at the snowy peak of the mountain known as heaven's summit and was the highest and most distinctive mountain on the whole planet. The ancient Alderiaans believed the often cloud covered frosted tip was the home of their gods and goddesses. She had spent many hours as a child lying on her back near the base of the mountain and gazing towards its fleecy tip dreaming about the myths her parents told her. Only now, she viewed the mountain from the west. On the other side of that mountain, she thought, lay the ashes of her parents.

"Miss Farr, is something wrong?" came a voice from behind her. He had sensed her joy be replaced by something much darker.

She turned around and saw Lord Vader still standing in the threshold between the kitchen and dining rooms.

"Of course, my lord," she said, but he could feel something, something he couldn't quite place, swirling in the air around her.

"I just cant help being astounded by the beauty of this place. I guess its just the Architect in me…" she said, trailing off as she turned once more to glance towards the mountain peak.

"You will have ample time to explore the house at your leisure my lady. But for now, I would like to ask you to join me for dinner here in one hour.

Aurren was suddenly brought back to the realization that she was there to do a job. How could she have forgotten that?

"I know it has been a long journey, and you may wish to freshen up. Your rooms have been prepared, and I hope you find everything there that you will need." He stopped for a moment, thinking of the extent to which he had gone in furnishing her quarters. He glanced over her simple, though well made tunic and leggings and realized he probably had. He had furnished the place as if he was entertaining royalty. He told himself it just was so that she would be comfortable, and if she had everything she needed, she wouldn't need to bother _him_. The real truth was the simple fact that he had not been able to tell her in the days before they left that they were actually leaving. It was easier for him to have everything simply ready for her than try to explain to her what she would need.

He moved towards a hidden door in the dining room wall. With the intricate murals on the wall, one would never know it was there if it were not pointed out. She followed him and saw that it opened on to a great hallway with a mammoth staircase at the end. She stopped beside him as he motioned up the stairs. You will find your rooms behind the first set of doors on the right. In case you noticed, there is no formal staff in this home. We do, however, have a virtual army of protocol and server droids who should be able to attend to your every need. If you need anything, they will be able to get it for you. If they cannot help you, then find me."

This whole thing was just too much for Aurren to take in at once. First being rushed to his quarters, then being told they were headed to Alderaan- immediately. The strange conversation in the cockpit. This beautiful villa. And to top it all off, finding herself only a few short kilometers from where her parents had been murdered.

"Thank you, my lord," was the only thing she could think to say. In fact, it seemed to be the only thing she ever said to him. But she wasn't the only one who wished she had more to say. She was always polite, always respectful, and never did it seem insincere- and he would most certainly know if it were. He wanted her to say something, _anything_ besides "yes my lord," or "thank you my lord." He wanted to hear in her voice the passion and talent and intellect that oozed from her work. He thought back to her voice as she described the villa as "beautiful." He wanted to hear her breathless again.

Watching her climb the stairs he thought, 'soon enough, I guess. Once we begin really working on the palace, I am sure I will hear plenty.'

Aurren made her way up the steps in bewilderment. Reaching the top, she found the set of doors that Lord Vader said led to her rooms. When she opened them, she was overwhelmed with what she saw. Realizing she now had less than an hour to make herself presentable again, she set to work exploring the room.


	11. Ch11 So Unassuming

11. So Unassuming

The doors from the hallway led into a small elegantly appointed foyer. Leaving the foyer and entering the main suite Aurren was dumbstruck at what was before her eyes. She felt like she had walked into the personal quarters of royalty. From the intricately carved wood on the doors, furniture, and moldings, to the rich embroidered silks and linens- and this was only in the living area. A balcony spread out beyond great glass doors with a magnificent view of the undulating hillside.

'No time for this Aurren!' she told herself, as she continued through the lone doorway she assumed led to the bedchamber.

Once again, she was in awe. From the high bed piled in soft down blankets and pillows, to the exquisite handmade rugs, the thick golden brocade drapes and even a crystal chandelier, down to the glow of the soft wooden floor and the crackle in the fire- this was the sort of place she never envisioned herself.

It was only now that she began to wonder just how far Vader had gone to see that she had everything she needed. She could hear his voice echoing in the back of her head, telling her that he was a man of his word. Aurren walked towards a slightly open door that she assumed was the bathroom

Just as she suspected, another beautiful room. A large, deep tile bathtub sat in one corner, surrounded by a variety of oils and soaps and salts- a stack of fluffy, fragrant towels next to it. The walls and floor were covered in veneers of brown and gold swirling granite. The shower was quite large as well and was covered on all sides in mottled glass and even had a bench built into the side. Along one long wall with a massive mirror hanging over a white marble vanity with painted porcelain sinks. The vanity was practically overflowing with every beauty product she had ever seen, and even some she hadn't. The drawers were much the same.

'I couldn't use this much stuff in a year…" Aurren thought as she picked up a few of the beautiful jars and bottles. Perfumes, lotions, oils, cosmetics, as well as some more practical things like toothbrushes and brushes and combs and razors.

Looking into the mirror, Aurren frowned at her appearance. She looked like a peasant amongst these richly appointed rooms. She had to find something else to wear, "Maybe if I look like I belong here I'll start to feel like I belong here. As she left the bathroom, she turned and glanced at the large bath. "I'll be seeing _you_ later," she said in its direction, and re-entered the bedchamber.

Noticing a large armoire against one wall, she began to make her way over there, until she noticed another doorway. 'Must be a closet," she thought distantly, and changed directions.

Opening the door, her jaw dropped to the floor. Most of her life, Aurren never made much fuss over clothing or shoes or jewelry- any of the like. She worked for the empire now, and she had a uniform, and when not in that, there was still a dress code. Of course, she did have her days off, but never an occasion to wear anything of any elegance. That didn't mean that she wasn't just like any other warm blooded female, and the view before her was enough to give any woman a complete joy-gasm.

'No… Way…' was her only thought as she tried to take in row after row after row of sumptuous gowns and less formal dresses, tailored pants and breeches and leggings, linen and silk tunics in an array of lush, fine fabrics. More shoes than she had ever seen in one place were lines up along the back wall. There were soft kidskin boots in varying sizes and colors, delicate sandals- some simple and some elaborate with jewels and stones and gold and silver, slippers in exotic leathers and embroidered silks, and even some shoes that were for hiking or exercising, including a pair of sleek black dura leather slippers that were exact matches for the ones she had back on the starship.

Aurren tried to remind herself that she had no time to be overwhelmed, and began quickly going through the clothing, trying to decide what would be appropriate for a dinner meeting with Darth Vader. She couldn't help but eye each of the beautiful, elaborate gowns that hung delicately from soft covered hangers. 'Why would I need these?' she thought, but pushed it aside.

She decided that something conservative would be good. A dress most likely. It would be respectable, she thought, to show up well groomed. Aurren finally settled on a green silk dress that fell just to her knee. It had a fitted, deep vee-neck sleeveless top, and a pleated, slightly fluffed out skirt, with a white silk sash around the waist. She selected a pair of white leather slippers and left the closet before she could change her mind.

Placing the dress and shoes on the edge of the bed, she began stripping off her clothes. Upon reaching her undergarments, she realized that her plain white panties and bra would not work under the dress. She had almost decided on going commando when she remembered the armoire across the room. She rushed quickly to it and swung open the doors… and couldn't help but blush profusely.

Aurren was immensely grateful for all that her lord had provided for her, but this was unexpected. She imagined she should just think of it as full of "undergarments," but the finery she found was unlike what she would consider simple undergarments. No, this was lingerie. _Darth Vader_ had supplied her with a very impressive collection of delicate, intricate,… _completely gorgeous_ lingerie.

Running her fingers over silks and satins and soft cottons she noticed literally every conceivable piece of lingerie. There were stockings and slips, bra's, garters, panties and… even garter belts. And they all seemed to be in matching pairs, in every color and cut…

It occurred to Aurren that this was very strange… did the man behind the mask… did he… he couldn't have…

She tossed aside the thought that this, these tiny pieces of intimate apparel, meant anything besides… well… to be worn as undergarments. Vader probably didn't even know what exactly was in the room, just told someone to stock it for a woman. 'Ha!' she thought, "As if Darth Vader had brought me here to have his way with me,' she giggled to herself while pulling delicate silk panties the color of her dress from a drawer, 'Hell, he probably couldn't even if he wanted to… the whole mask thing and all.'

Tossing aside her old white undergarments, she slid the tiny green panties up over her hips and then pulled on a white satin slip. Carefully, she unzipped the dress, and pulled it over her head, zipping it up again as she bent over to slid on the slippers. She rushed then to the bathroom to do something with her hair.

Upon first seeing herself in the mirror, she stopped suddenly. When she put the dress on and zipped it up, she knew it felt good, but she had no idea it would _look_ this good. She pulled a large natural bristle brush from one drawer and ran it through her hair. She then pinned it up with some tiny pins she found that had what looked like diamonds and jade encrusted on them, leaving the back down to hang loosely over her shoulders.

Not being someone who regularly wore makeup, she rummaged the drawer with cosmetics and settled with a light powder, a sweep of mascara to make her look more awake, and some plain clear gloss. Standing back to take a good look, she smiled. 'I think I look better now than I ever have in my life,' she thought as she ran her hands over the beautiful green silk of the dress, 'shame that the only one who will see me is Lord Vader.'

Lord Vader.

She hadn't really had a chance yet to think about the strange conversation on the cruiser. So much of it had confused her. It felt like he was forcing himself to be cordial sometimes, and others- well others it seemed like he was angry at himself because he was nice to her.

He was supposed to be this huge domineering thing- everyone was scared of him, but not once had she ever feared him. She was so intrigued by everything about him- especially the part where he had told her he was a force-user. If it didn't seem virtually impossible, her first thought would be that he was once a Jedi- but everyone knew that all of the Jedi had been eradicated- or as some whispered- gone into hiding. As if the Jedi -who were loyal supporters of the _Republic- _would ever become minions to the Empire… no, not a Jedi. She had heard about other force users. Many planets had force sensitives who were talented healers or insightful priests and priestesses. She had also heard once about the Sith, who were the opposite of the Jedi. Darth Vader could certainly be a Sith.

Looking at the chrono on the wall, she realized that she would have to meet him soon. She stood in front of the vanity mirror and stared blankly at herself. She felt very strange about Lord Vader. He had basically told her that he had respect for her where he normally had little respect for anyone. She had impressed him. He was pleased with her work- and really- that was all that mattered.

For once she was truly going to be doing what she loved, as hard as it would be for her to be here on Alderaan where so many bad memories haunted her. More than that, she had a boss now that realized her talent, that appreciated it, and hopefully would push her to her limits.

She focused on her image in the mirror once more and then rushed from her rooms. She had a reputation of always being on time, if not early… and now would be a bad time to change habits. Aurren admired the swish of the silk skirt as she bounded down the stairs, slowing herself once she hit the bottom. A person shouldn't rush through a house like this, she thought, its too beautiful for that. 'Graceful Aurren, just _try_ to be graceful.'

The door into the living room was slightly open, and a warm glow emanated from inside. Sliding the door open just a hint further, she slid delicately in the room, her slippers barely making a sound on the wood floor.

Darth Vader turned from where he was seated at the head of the table when she entered, then stood as she walked into the room, following the swish of the skirt to where her hips swayed from side to side. 'This is _so_ not good,' he thought, his eyes wide and his jaw agape. For what felt like the hundredth time since he had met Aurren Farr, he was grateful for his disguise.

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_ok, the rating for this fic will raise here very shortly. just a heads up!_


	12. Ch12 Dinner for Two

12. Dinner For Two

'This woman is going to be the end of me,' was Vader's thought as Aurren entered the room. The pale green dress she wore clung to her body in all of the perfect places. She seemed to glide as she walked into the room, and he found himself at a loss for words- any words. He had appointed his own personal tailor to create a wardrobe for Miss Farr. Her measurements were surprisingly found on her personal information file, and were confirmed by the ships laundry workers. He left everything up to the tailor and her assistant, only telling them that she should be prepared for anything that might come up- but that everything must be perfect, the work on her garments should have the same quality his had. The dress she wore fit like an absolute dream as his eyes traveled down her body admiring her tone arms, firm breasts, tiny waist, full curving hips, and perfect legs.

Next thing he knew, she was standing directly in front of him, and he was completely tongue-tied. He was saved from having to say anything by the sound of her voice.

"Good evening Lord Vader, I hope I haven't kept you waiting."

"Of course not, Miss Farr, you are in fact early, please sit." If it hadn't been for the mask, he would have kissed her hand, but he couldn't, so he settled for personally pulling out her chair and seating her.

'There's that smile again, damn it," he thought as she thanked him, _again_, and he seated himself.

He pressed a button on a small controller, and in seconds, several protocol droids entered with dozens of steaming trays full of food. One more entered with a decanter of wine, and poured a glass for Aurren. She did not fail to notice that Vader had not been served.

'Of course he's not eating with me… if he even eats… I wonder what's really under that mask…' she thought as she took a long draught of her wine.

Aurren put on her best manners and ate delicately while Vader explained the mission to her, not once taking his eyes off of her the entire time. They would be taking out a small ship tomorrow to scout the area and pick a few places to survey for the construction sight. Once they chose a location, she would refine her plans to the landscape and then would come the hard work. Not just construction, but the two of them overseeing every aspect of it, down to the smallest detail. It was very evident that they would soon be spending a large amount of time together.

As he continued telling her all about the mission, his mind lingered on other things… like the fact that she had 2 dimples in her left cheek and only one in her right… or that he had never seen anyone make eating look sexy- even his ex-wife and former queen Padme Amidala who had more perfect manners than anyone else in the world would look like a heathen eating next to her. Oh, and her skin… so sinfully white. Staring at the curves of her breasts at the top of her dress made him wonder if the rest of her body was covered with the same silken white skin.

He finished talking about the same time he finished ogling her. She had said not much more than the obedient "Yes my lord," or "No, my lord", and his patience was wearing thin as he chided himself for once more viewing her like a piece of meat.

He had to get out of there. The longer they sat at the table, the more he stared unabashedly at her from behind his guise. At the present time, he was telling her that they would need to find a stone quarry that could provide the proper material for construction- but his words fell from his mouth as if her were on auto-pilot. His mind was consumed with the way she gazed at him intently as he spoke- even more so with the way she unconsciously ran her finger slowly around the rim of her wine goblet.

"So as you may see, we have quite a bit of work in store for us, and it may mean we have to stay here for a while."

"My lord, if I may?"

"Yes, please Miss Farr, speak."

"Thank you my lord. I just wanted to tell you that I will do my best to make sure everything is just as you would like it. I know that I've spent the past few years only designing for the military- and also that I was chosen because of my technical knowledge on security matters… but I want to assure you that I can do this. I have dreamed of a project like this since I first saw the Royal Palace here on Alderaan when I was young."

The spill of words from her lips was like music to his ears. The way she spoke was captivating. It was always fascinating to see someone speak with passion.

"I truly appreciate the chance you have granted me lord," she continued, "and especially for your kindness. This home is breathtaking- it is a dream to me. Just to be able to see it is a gift- and I would not be here if it weren't for you. So- thank you lord. I promise I will not fail you."

Her eyes remained on him as she finished. She really did appreciate simply the chance to at least _try_ to do this project.

Vader knew he should say something, but all he drew was a blank. Her sudden outpouring of thanks and pure gratitude was something he had not felt in a long time- and he really could _feel _it. Hell, the last time he had felt that transcendent feeling of gratitude had been… he couldn't remember… it must have been sometime- oh…my…- during the clone wars. He felt a chill race up his spine and then rose suddenly from his chair.

"Miss Farr-" he couldn't think, "-you needn't thank me. You were chosen by the Emperor to get first shot at designing the palace. You are obviously the best person for the job and you have proven it through the work you have already prepared." The words seemed to come from his mouth before he could even think them. "I do look forward to collaborating with you my lady. Please, enjoy the home. We will depart around 0900 hours tomorrow morning. I am going to retire now. If you need me for anything, my rooms are at the opposite end of the hall from yours."

When he had said he was leaving, Aurren rose from her chair. Once more, Vader got the full view of her tiny body in that sinful green dress.

"Thank you my lord. I will be ready at 0900. Goodnight, My Lord."

"Goodnight, Miss Farr," Vader replied, a softness in his voice he hadn't heard in a long, long time. With a swirl of his cloak, he disappeared from the room through the hidden doors.

As soon as the door closed behind him, Aurren slumped back in the chair. She was exhausted. Through her nervousness she had drunk several goblets of wine- the droids constantly refilling her cup once it got close to empty. It only added to the spin in her head from the whirlwind of events in the day. She felt so many things at once: joy from the beautiful home and finally doing work she loved; apprehension just from being here on Alderaan; sadness from the memories of her childhood; and finally, confusion when it came to Lord Vader.

She desperately wanted to explore the home, but the late hour, coupled with the storm in her head and the wine, made her craving for sleep stronger. The next few days, according to Vader, would be leisurely- she would have plenty of time to investigate later. Now…_now_ she would get more acquainted with that luxuriously fluffy bed.

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_next chapter, fic rating will raise to M! be warned!_


	13. Ch13 Lord of Desperation

_PLEASE NOTE- RATING CHANGE!_

13. Lord of Desperation

In the master's chambers, the fresher was slowly filling with steam as the shower ran empty. Lord Vader had spent no time ripping off his mask, cloak and gloves. He now paced back and forth in front of his vanity, his mind racing as he fumed. He needed to get control of himself!

He stripped the rest of the clothing from his body and got into the shower. Leaning his head against the wall, he tried to erase the image of the architect in that damned dress out of his head. The only problem was, the more he tried to get rid of it, the more the images grew and changed in his head. That green dress fit her so beautifully and it left barely anything to the imagination. In his mind, he could see the skirt pushed up to show more of her toned porcelain legs. The top of the dress was slowly pulled down to reveal perfect white breasts and rosy hard nipples. It fell to the floor and he imagined how she might look- standing before him nude… standing here in the shower with him…

It had been ages since Vader had found himself in the position he was now- not since he was a padawan. He glared at his erection and tried to will it to go away. When he was young, he would deal with it one of two ways- a cold shower after a hard workout, or take care of it with a few shameful strokes. He hadn't even had this problem in the past few years that he had sworn off all women. He didn't need this- or so he thought.

His mind was absolutely rapt with images. Pressing her against the shower wall and running his lips over every inch of that milky body as the hot water poured over her. Running his hands over her skin, finding her center with his fingertips and pressing into her until she moaned for him. His hand reached down to grasp his erection and began to stroke himself as his thoughts went further. In his mind he lifted her up and wrapped her legs around him, lowering her down onto his throbbing cock. He began to stroke harder as he pictured himself grinding into her unmercifully. He shut his eyes hard and pushed into his hand more furiously than he had ever had. He was desperate for release, and as the Aurren in his mind thrashed in ecstasy impaled on his cock he came hard and fast. So hard that he found himself on his knees in the shower, the water washing away the evidence of his shame.

Though physically sated- for now- he felt very empty. His mind was like it was shut down and his body was completely worn out. He was ashamed.

He quickly washed, got out of the shower and dried off. He needed sleep. No- he needed to stop being so weak. Leaving the fresher, he pulled on his sleep pants and slid between the cold soft sheets. He wished there were refuge for him and these unwanted feelings. And then he remembered the force.

When Vader awoke from his meditation on the way to Alderaan, he did not think about what his commune in the light had meant… but now as he sought sanctuary, his curiosity grew. He remembered how he felt as his eyes opened in the cockpit after meditating. It was as if he did not know he were filthy, and had been miraculously bathed clean. He felt lighter, calmer.

And then, he figured it out. The darkness… it was somehow… lessened. The swirl of the dark side of the force had been a constant companion of his for the past 5 years, but strange enough, as its presence in his life began to be moved backstage, he hardly noticed it until he thought about it. In fact, besides the demons that were haunting him over his lack of control, he felt like he had been released a heavy burden. He felt great.

But what did that mean? What did it mean that the force was admitting him refuge again? Would he be able to find it again? Would it speak to him?

He was almost lost in his desperation. His desperation to be in the warm light again. His desperation to be near Aurren Farr. His desperation to be _in_ Aurren Farr.

So he decided- he would try to commune with the force again.

He pulled the covers up over his head and closed his eyes. He knew that this wasn't a "normal" was to meditate, but he was never one much for tradition. He focused on the glow of the darkness around him, concentrating, waiting to feel the warmth. If he hadn't had all of his senses tuned specifically to it, he would not have noticed the gradual warmth that began to consume him. In a flash, he was surrounded by light.

It was all quiet, serene… until the voice he recognized as the force whispered a single word to him that singed his mind.

"….Anakin…"

Down the hall, Aurren had finally made it to her room. Stumbling through the doors, she wished she hadn't drunk so much wine. She crawled up on to the high bed and flopped back down on her back. 'Oh… right…' she thought as she sat back up, 'cant sleep in this!', and carelessly pulled the dress off over her head and laid it at the foot of the bed. Crawling towards the top, she pulled down the sheets and slid between the covers, a smile covering her face as she sunk into the comfort.

She was asleep in moments, but once sleep took her, so did dreams.

Back in his own chambers, Lord Vader lay back as tears unconsciously fell down his face. He was still within the silken arms of the force, and he was overwhelmed by it. The light around him began to swirl with colors, and when they eventually settled, they settled around him, and he realized he was in some sort of orchard that was simply bursting with wildflowers. He glanced around himself and saw the unique frosted tip of the mountain the Alderiaans called Heaven's Summit, except he seemed to be viewing it from the opposite side than the view from the villa.

In the distance, he could hear a child singing. It was one of the same songs his mother had sung to him back on Tattooine, and he walked towards it. In the distance he saw a small girl with long, almost white hair. She walked towards him singing, arms full of flowers, and the gentle breeze played with her hair and turned her cheeks pink.

He was obviously being given a glimpse of something by the force, but what? The child walked past him without even noticing him, and he decided to follow her. Her tiny voice continued singing the nursery rhyme, and in his mind, he sang along. "_you are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy, when skies are gray…_"

He walked along side of the child as she walked out of the orchard, the heady fragrance of the wildflowers filling the air around him. He kept looking at her, there was something about her… he knew he must be seeing all of this for a reason, he had to keep his eyes open for something- but all he could do was watch. The force was so warm and comforting around him, and this place… it was beautiful. He wished he could be here forever.

Vader wondered if this were a real place… this orchard and the valley beyond, with the small village in the distance. He wished the child would turn and run into the grassy valley, he wanted to explore it, but as she turned towards the village, he was pulled- driven to follow her.

She had stop singing the words, and only continued lightly humming as she turned slightly from the village as she got closer, and towards a small thatched home on the outskirts. He could _feel_ the pureness of this girl. The innocence of this child.

As they got closer to the home, a worry began to build in his chest. Something wasn't right. 'I've got a bad feeling about this,' he thought… then spared a distant thought for the man he had heard say that phrase many times.

The closer and closer they got the more it began to scream at him until he stopped in his tracks, and screamed towards the girl as she approached the threshold of the home- "NOOOOOOOO!" But she couldn't hear him.

He ran, faster than he thought his feet could really move, until he rushed through the open door to what looked like a blood bath. Two people, a man and a woman lay on the floor, brutally murdered. The child, the one that moments ago was glowing and happy and filled with innocence, was now sitting between the two adults, her flowers scattered on the floor, in the blood. And that beautiful innocence- it was gone. Leaving nothing but a deep empty hole- one that felt strangely familiar to him.

Suddenly he had the feeling of time speeding up. The blond girl sat there static until a man came to the home. Then everything became a blur… until finally he found himself in front of a funeral pyre. The child from the orchard was standing next to him, her face a blank mask. He wanted to hold her, tell her it would be ok. His heart bled for her, it actually ached. He remembered how he had felt when his mother had died at the hands of the Tusken Raiders. He just wanted to take her pain away.

Suddenly the child broke down, a long, low, wounded sound spilling from her throat as the tears came forth. The man who had found her in the home with her dead parents kneeled in front of her and spoke.

"It's ok Aurren, it's ok, just cry. It's ok to cry."

And she did cry. And strange enough, Vader found himself in tears as well.

The emptiness that felt so familiar made sense. The pang of pain he had felt in the dining room when they had arrived made sense. The reason for the emptiness suddenly made sense as well.

Vader shot up from the bed, his breath coming fast as he tried to calm down. The force, the one that had forsaken him for so long, had shown him how Aurren had found her parents slain on the floor of their home, surrounded by their own blood. He had felt what she had felt, almost as if the blood had drained completely from him the moment he saw the man and the woman lying there lifeless.

He lay back down and closed his eyes. He was simply too exhausted for anymore. He thought about Aurren, wondered what happened to her once the funeral was over. He wondered what happened the next year. He wondered how she came to be an architect, and finally how she ended up here with him and constantly on his mind.

He drifted back into sleep as Aurren awoke, her face wet from tears. It was as if she had just re-lived the entire thing… from playing in the orchards, to picking the flowers, to the vast blank spot in her memory from shock, the funeral pyre and the flames as they consumed the bodies of her parents.

She curled into the fetal position and cried. She knew it would be hard being here, but she did not want to relive the painful memories. She continued to cry until the birds on the hillside began to sing and the first rays of light began to seep through her windows.

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_I _do_ hope that no one was offended too greatly by the... er..._ personal gratification_ scene. I dont plan too much smut in the story, but there will be some, eventually. Thanks again for all the great reviews!_


	14. Ch14 Scouting

_Sorry if anyone felt squicky about that last chapter. Hope you like this one. Please! Reviews! thanks!_

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14. Scouting

When her tears finally stopped, and the room was bathed in dazzling morning light, Aurren hauled herself out of bed and into the bathroom. It was still early and a long bath seemed like a decent replacement for the night of sleep she lacked. She filled the deep tub with hot water and sunk down into it, preparing herself for the day.

In his own rooms on the other side of the villa, Darth Vader was laying awake in his bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. He had too many contradicting emotions right now. He wanted things that he _didn't_ want… if that made any sense. He thought about what it meant that the force had shown him its compassion after so long.

He sprung from his bed full of nervous energy. Today he wanted to find the spot where his palace, the place that would be his sanctuary, would be built. Of course, he knew that it was most likely that they would not find the perfect spot today, but nevertheless he was looking forward to it.

Entering his fresher, he quickly showered, shaved and got dressed. He ordered a droid to bring his breakfast to his quarters, and ate hastily as he reviewed data pads full of information on Alderaan. Since this was going to be his new home, he wanted to know everything he could.

Back in Aurren's room, she had emerged from the bathroom as fresh and clean as summer rain. It was a definite luxury for her to be able to take a long leisurely bath, her fresher on the star ship only had a small tub and integrated shower, the tub itself actually too small to take a satisfying bath in. For the second time in as many days, she entered the immense walk-in closet and marveled at all the selections.

Today she would be boarding a small ship with Lord Vader and touring some of the countryside, scouting for possible locations for his new estate. Part of her was excited to be getting out and exploring, she always loved the countryside this time of year, with its fresh new greens and fragrant blooms and cool breezes. Another part of her was slightly apprehensive about it. She didn't want to be, but she was. Her dream the previous evening had been a sort of a wake up call to her. Since the day she was taken to the orphanage after her parents death, she had tried to shun emotion and attachment- it always ended in sadness. That was her way of dealing with her loss. For 20 years she held back her tears and sorrows, and now, that repressed sorrow had finally reared its head. But that was in the past. It was over and done with. There was nothing she could do about it now… there was nothing she could do about it then. When she really thought about it, perhaps she was lucky she was out that morning instead of in the home when her parents were murdered. She very well would have had her life taken as well.

Inside the closet, she had the task of deciding once again what was appropriate. Secretly, she wished she could just wear her boring gray uniform. On the star ship, the uniform was always appropriate. Here, in this beautiful villa, she had to choose from row after row of exquisite finery, and it was very hard.

Aurren finally settled on a soft, dark blue cotton empire waist dress with cap sleeves and a deep vee neck that fell just at mid thigh, with a pair of cream colored knee length tights underneath. It was comfortable and provided for movement, as well as having a casual elegance to it.

She smoothed her hair back from her face and tied it back. Looking in the mirror she admired the cut and quality of the garment. She had never had clothes like these. And she had to admit, they made her look fantastic.

Glancing at the chronometer on the wall, it read 0800 hours. 'One hour…,' thought Aurren, 'that should be at least enough time to _start_ exploring this house.' Grabbing a set of dark blue dura-leather utility slippers from the closet, she slipped then on her feet then left her quarters.

Downstairs, Lord Vader was already prepared for the day. He sat before the hearth in the kitchen as the few remaining embers from the fire that burned there the night before crackled and faded out. He was prepared to depart, and thought that Miss Farr would be early- she seemed to be always early. He was poring over maps on a small data pad, plotting out the area they would cover today. He stopped and looked away when he could hear soft footsteps passing through the dining room. He was right, she was ready. Looking at his wrist chronometer, he realized exactly _how_ early she was. "Hmm…" he thought, "she's probably going to do some exploring while she has time," and without another thought, sat back in his chair feeling rather satisfied and continued his work.

Aurren did not notice Vader in the kitchen as she passed through the dining room. She had intended on exploring the rooms beyond the other side of the dining room, but halted before she made it thorough the threshold.

It was a beautiful morning, and the grass and trees sparkled as if sprinkled with diamond dust from the thick layer of spring dew. She didn't know how she hadn't noticed the magnificent gardens and terraces the night before, and stepped out of the glass doors onto the back veranda.

There was just too much to take in. It was a virtual riot of color- blazing reds, yellows, pinks and oranges, alongside deep cool greens, purples, blues and whites. She simply stood there, enjoying the gentle breeze, the warm sunshine and the fragrant air surrounding her. It was absolutely sublime.

Back inside, Vader was beginning to grow a bit restless. He was ready to go, but he wasn't ready to face her. After the night before, he didn't know how he would be able to look at her without thinking about all the things he saw- from the things he made up to the vision the force had sent him. At least she wouldn't see his face. He knew that he wore his emotions very blatantly upon his face.

He stood abruptly and moved through the dining room, intending on merely wandering about the villa, when he noticed Aurren standing out on the veranda. He let his eyes run over her, admiring the way the slight breeze played with her hair and the morning sunlight cast a glow around her. He wanted to join her there, just to be next to her and take in all the beauty of the dawn.

Beauty. When was the last time he had truly considered beauty? Beauty in the small things in life, like the delicate petals of the sweet-scented moon rose, or the glory of high arching snow topped mountain peaks…? He couldn't remember, but he felt as if a part of him had come back to life that he had forgotten was there.

Aurren lingered a moment longer on the veranda, then turned to go back in the house. She was slightly startled to see Vader standing there, and quickly composed herself to greet him.

As she turned and walked towards him, Lord Vader also composed himself. He knew there was no way she would know what he had seen last night, he shouldn't worry about that.

"Good Morning my Lord, I trust you rested well?" she said with a slight bow as she closed the door to the outside behind her.

"Yes, thank you Miss Farr. I do not wish to rush you, I know it is not yet 0900 hours, but are you prepared to depart?"

"Yes my lord, I am ready. I have loaded the specifications on a data pad so we will have measurements handy. I can begin at once."

"Very well then, lets go."

They quickly made their way to the hanger bay, and Aurren was surprised to see a small ship parked their beside the cruised they arrived in. She didn't ask any questions, he was one of the most powerful men in the galaxy, he could have anything he wanted at his beck and call. He could have had a whole fleet of these ships delivered in the night while they slept.

It was a small, two-person ship, and they seated themselves in the cockpit side by side. Vader couldn't help but smile when he thought about Aurren's reaction to him piloting the cruiser yesterday. He glanced at the woman beside him going over her data pad as he powered up the ship. "Gosh this ship is small…" he thought, "and she's so close." He tried to concentrate on maneuvering the ship out of the hanger. "She's so close I think I can feel her body heat…"

Aurren stared blankly at the data pad, pressing the button that scrolls the data repetitively. She wasn't really going over her data- she didn't need to. She knew it back and forth and upside down. It was hers after all. She was just trying not to get overwhelmed as the Alderiaan countryside flew past her.

Once they had made a good ways away from the villa, Vader spoke. "Now, Miss Far," he said, "I have mapped out a route past several locations. I must admit, I don't know much about choosing a site for a home. What exactly are we looking for?"

Aurren glanced up from her data pad and thought for a moment. "Well, my lord, the best location would be one with a relatively large expanse of flat land. That being said, you could choose any location you wish. The plans can always be altered to fit whatever landscape you would like to see out your windows… well, with one exception, I don't think we could build a palace this size on a mountain. It would just… be impractical."

Vader did not need to turn his head to see that she kept her eyes on him the entire time she spoke. When most people talked to him, they simmered just under their surface with fear and always averted their eyes. 'It's refreshing,' he thought, 'to not be treated like a monster, but a man."

That thought took him back to _why _others treated him that way. 'Oh, right… because I'm Darth Vader." He felt his chest go tight and for a moment forgot to breathe. For some reason he thought back to the young technician he had killed upon arriving on the star ship. The one who's neck he had snapped without a moments thought to _what that really meant._ The ease with which he had gained the ability to cruelly and without reason send a being to meet his or her maker- whoever they believed it to be.

He didn't totally understand why he was feeling remorse all of a sudden for things that he had simply washed his hands of and forgotten for the past 5 years… but he knew it had something to do with the force.

He looked over to Aurren as she gazed out the window. Was it _her_ that was doing this to him? He discarded that notion immediately. No, it wasn't her that was doing it to him, but it was the light of the force re-filling him that was giving him the ability to actually _feel_ all of these things.

"My lord" she said, pulling him from his thoughts, "There is an area ahead called the Shoal Province. It's northern coast boarders the White Sea. It is renowned for its array of landscape, everything from sandy beaches to cool dark forests. Should we perhaps fly through and check it out? It is also on a major route, with cities scattered about the province."

"That sounds good, my lady, are we on the correct heading?"

"No sir, here… let me plug my data pad into the console and transmit the coordinates. We are not far off, it is just ahead."

They spent hours travelling through the Shoal Province, never once finding a place that spoke to Vader, but he really was taken aback by just how dazzling the countryside was. The white sands of the beaches sparkled like crystal, the valleys were sweet and fragrant, and the forests were cool and still. But none of these places were where he would have his home.

He couldn't help but think as they made their way back to the villa about the beautiful valley full of wildflowers with the orchard on one side, rolling hills on another, protected by a giant graceful mountain he saw in his vision last night. He wanted to ask her where it was. He wanted to go there. He wanted to stay there forever.

"Miss Farr, am I to understand that you were born and raised on Alderaan?" He didn't know why he asked, or how she would even answer. Or if, for that matter, she would even speak about it. After what he had seen last night, he knew he wouldn't want to. It was the way he had felt after his mother's death, and he had never spoken of it to anyone, save his blasted cheating dead wife.

Aurren figured this would come out eventually, and she had prepared herself for it. Actually, she had prepared herself for it years and years ago. She had a routine answer she gave when she was asked about her life on Alderaan before she moved to Coruscant. She would normally just explain that she was raised in an orphanage and worked hard to make her way to where she was today. Which was why perhaps she surprised herself when the words left her lips.

"Yes my lord, I was born on the Alderiaan Countryside not too far from where the Villa is."

'Stupid!' thought Aurren, 'too much information.'

"Really?" Lord Vader asked. "How did you come to become an architect on the star ship?"

"Well…' she said, trying to think back to her normal reply… which was somehow momentarily forgotten. "I… well…" she let out a long deep sigh then sat back in her seat. "Do you really want to know? It is such a boring story my Lord, I am nothing special."

He was struck by her comment that she was "nothing special." 'Of course you are!' he thought, but replied more wisely. "Yes, Miss Farr, I would like to know. I admire your accomplishments, especially you being so young. Perhaps I may understand how you have become so gifted if I know where you come from."

He didn't need to know where she came from, he already knew, it was _after_ the tears and the funeral pyre that he was interested in. And truly, he was very interested.

"Let's see. I was born outside a small village called Pappillon. I lived with my mother and father on an orchard. When I was six, my parents were murdered in our home while I played in the meadow. I was sent to an orphanage in the capital city. I guess it was there that I fell in love with architecture. I just… immersed myself in it. I… I didn't have any friends, so my studying never suffered for that. Mostly I spent my free time in the Library and Archives, reading about different places, buildings, artists… I became a friend of a sort with several of the royal architects. They helped me gain admission to the academy on Coruscant when I was 16. The year I turned 21 I graduated from the academy with full honors at the top of the class and accepted a job working for the government… the Republic at the time. I did the same sort of work I have been doing for the past 5 years for the Empire. When the republic fell, I swore loyalty to the Emperor. I was actually taken to him directly… those with military information were watched very closely for a while… but I am sure you know that my lord. And I guess… well, that's it. I have been living on that blasted star ship for 5 years."

She couldn't believe she had just told him all of that, even though it was the abbreviated version. She _really_ couldn't believe she had the nerve to call the star ship "that blasted star ship." 'I think I just overstepped my bounds,' she thought to herself.

"It seems you have been a very busy young lady then Miss Farr… very hard working, just as it stated in your information file." He smiled under his mask, yet again. He felt endeared to her when she had cursed living on a star ship. "I too hate living on a ship. No real, pure, natural light, no plants or animals, stale recycled air, endless expanses of… gray…."

Aurren was looking out the window but not seeing anything, just listening to his voice. He had such a soothing voice. "Yeah," she said, "too much blasted gray… my lord."

They remained quiet as they traveled the remaining distance back to the estate. It was a comfortable silence, not one that either of them felt the need to break with small talk. It was as if somehow just coming to the conclusion together that the ship was not a pleasant place to live, they had created a sort of understanding between them.

When they finally arrived, Vader helped Aurren off the ship and guided her on his arm back to the house. They had barely said more than a few words to each other, but they strolled so naturally next to each other as they took in the exquisite sunset that turned everything beautiful in its radiant pink light.

They entered again through the kitchen, and there was a fire in the hearth in the kitchen that the droids had made to stave off the chill of the early spring night. A simple yet elegant spread was laid out on the counters waiting their return.

"My lady, if you would forgive me, I have matters I must attend to now. Please dine, enjoy yourself, explore the home, relax, whatever you may wish."

"Thank you my lord," replied Aurren. She didn't know why, but she felt a slight disappointment that she would be left alone… no, that he would be leaving her.

"Should we depart at 0900 tomorrow morning, or would you prefer an earlier rise?"

"Whatever pleases you my lord, I am fully at your command."

Vader paused at this. He liked that she wished to please him… and that it seemed that she in all honesty _wanted_ to, not because she was commanded to. But he also wished she weren't so submissive. Her intellect and her passion for her work and her beauty all pointed to a fire that should be inside of her, but he barely felt a single ember burning.

For years, everything was his way. The way he wanted it. When he wanted it. No questions asked. But now, in this moment, he truly wanted to know what she wanted. What her opinion on the matter was.

He didn't want to force her to do anything.

"Let's just say 0900 again, and if we run into each other earlier and we are both ready, then we will depart then, how does that sound?"

"That is fine my lord, I will be ready again tomorrow."

He turned to leave the room but then turned back to her. "Thank you Miss Farr for your diligent hard work. I do appreciate it. Rest well this evening."

"Thank you, my lord, it is an honor to work for you."

With that, he left. And Aurren finally realized something she hadn't before. For once in her life, she really, _really_ felt safe. As if nothing could harm her. After all, _**what could**_ with the illustrious Darth Vader as her master?


	15. Ch15 UnSithLike Thinking

15.UnSithLike Thinking

Water always seemed as a means of escape for him. Ever since he had left Tattooine and found out that there were places in the Universe where water was abundant, he indulged himself every opportunity he got. It was as if he was constantly parched, having spent his childhood under those twin suns- the sand getting in and drying him out.

Lord Vader lay back in the deep tub immersed in hot water, his eyes closed as only his nose breached the surface. He was trying desperately to not think about _anything_. So he thought about water. He thought about how soothing it is…

He thought about the first time that he had a real bath. He could remember it so vividly, the sound of the water filling the tub… the scent of the fine soaps… the goosebumps that rioted across his skin as he eased for the first time into glorious warm water… the flaming color red his skin turned, as well as how he was fascinated at how his fingers and toes shriveled up from being submersed so long. So long in fact that Obi-Wan had to actually pull him from the tub.

Obi-Wan. The sound of his master's voice as he hunched over the edge of the tub, physically scrubbing the years of filth and sand from his blond head that sonic showers never seemed to get out. How Obi-Wan had tried so hard to be strong for him in that time immediately after Qui-Gon's death. It was a strange moment for Vader to realize what an intimate, touching, subtle gesture it was for Obi-Wan to help him bathe properly for the first time and manage not to demoralize him or make him feel bad for being so dirty in the process. He knew that it was Qui-Gon's dying wish for Obi-Wan to take Anakin as his padawan. He knew that Obi-Wan had considered him at the time of their meeting to be yet another pitiful lifeform. He knew that Obi-Wan had been hurt. But he also knew that Obi-Wan would never let down Qui-Gon. And he didn't.

For years… too many years, he had tortured himself with the fact that he was nothing more than a promise to Obi-Wan's dead master- a promise that he wished he hadn't made. But as he sat in the tub, eyes closed, thinking about his one time master, he wondered why he never took note of the small things. He should have… that was the way his master was. It was always the small things.

He thought about Qui-Gon's funeral on Naboo. The tears that flowed freely down his cheeks for the man that had simply believed in him no questions asked. He hurt so much when Qui-Gon died, he had no idea what would happen to him next, he assumed he would be returned to Tattooine to his mother. He thought about how young Obi-Wan had looked as he stood there watching the victory celebration pass. He thought about how he was actually _scared_ of Obi-Wan… scared that he would never be as good as him, he would never be able to defeat a Sith lord, he would never be as calm and collected, he would never be as good of a padawan as he had been.

He remembered gazing up at Obi-Wan as the tears poured from his own cheek, to see a single tear break loose from the watery depths of his eyes and fall slowly down his own cheek. He remembered feeling more pain for that single tear that fell from Obi-Wan's eyes than the buckets that poured out of his own eyes. It was at that point that he had realized that becoming a Jedi was to truly forfeit ones self in all ways to serve the greater good. Now, the notion crossed his mind that he should have taken more from that day. The moment that Obi-Wan had turned to him, his lone tear vanishing as it fell to his robes, and looked at him- really looked at him with those stormy gray/green/blue eyes full of sorrow, then gently reached down and took his hand gently in his own… He should have known then that Obi-Wan harbored no ill will towards him… that Obi-Wan would do his best for him.

Vader took a deep breath and completely submerged himself beneath the water. He opened his eyes once submerged and took note of the way the view to the surface was twisted by the ripples on the top. He stayed under until his lungs burned for air, and then surfaced at the last second with a gasp. He clenched his eyes shut as the breath of life worked its way back into his lungs.

He didn't want to be thinking… but he couldn't stop. Any one else would have been boggled by the rapid rate at which thoughts ran through his head. He felt like he had finally discovered that he had been viewing his whole life as if he were under water. Was nothing the way he actually thought it to be? He wondered if he contemplated his entire life the way he had his first bath, if he would ultimately understand everything… but more so, would he see all of his failures and everything else he misperceived?

He felt as if he were in utter turmoil. He felt guilt, shame, self-hatred and sorrow, emotions that he considered weak. Emotions that he considered to be utterly useless. But as Darth Vader sat there, letting the emotions run through him, he wondered why. Why do I feel this way? Or do I feel this way? Sith's do _not_ feel these things. The confusion seemed to hang around him as if he were in a dense fog. He almost felt as if he had _learned_ something, having these revelations, but WHY? It was painful. And in the end, he could only feel one thing. Regret.

Or maybe it was two things. Regret and… he missed Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Pulling the plug from the bottom of the tub, he sat there stoic, watching the water rush furiously down the drain like a mini tornado. He wished he could be washed away with it. He wished the sadness that was building in him would was away like dirt did, down the drain.

Vader hauled himself from the tub and dried off slowly. He wrapped the towel around his waist and with his flesh hand, wiped the fog from the mirror. His eyes roamed over his humidity-blurred image. 'It's like being under water,' he thought absently. Even though he couldn't see himself clearly, he could still see very clearly every mark and scar that marred his body. They had always served as reminders to him- reminders of things from before that he didn't want to remember. Before, they were painful reminders of how the Jedi had betrayed him and ruined his life. Now, he couldn't take his eyes off of them.

On his left shoulder, was a tiny crescent shaped scar he had gotten on Tattooine from tripping over droid parts strewn across his room only days before he had met Qui-Gon. He remembered how his mother had taken care of it very gently- only after sternly telling him that was what he got for having a filthy room- she didn't want him to scar. On his right knee was a thin white line- the only remnant of a hard fall he had taken outside in the Temple Gardens. He was 13, and was trying to impress his master by flipping over his head during lightsaber training. He had been humiliated and embarrassed when he fell, not just ripping his leggings and breaking his little finger, but smashing his right kneecap to pieces. All he had felt at the time was shame, anger, self-pity… but as his eyes lingered on that thin white line in the mirror, he remembered how Obi-Wan had taken care of him- rushed him to the healers after scooping him up in his arms, cleaning and bandaging the wound after the healers were done, and most of all, not lectured him for showing off, but instead showing him how to properly pull off the move once he was healed. His eyes traveled next to the most visible scar, the one that he often felt took away some of his humanity.

Vader flexed his arm and looked to where metal met flesh. Since the fall of the republic, he had it battered into his brain that the reason he lost his arm was Obi-Wan's fault. Since the day he lost his arm he felt it was Obi-Wan's fault. If Obi-Wan had trusted him, if Obi-Wan had trained him better, if Obi-Wan… he had a million excuses. As his real hand ran over the connection of man and machine, he relived the moment in his head. 'Yeah, it was Obi-Wan's fault,' he thought sullenly, 'Obi-Wan's fault that I loved him so much that I wanted to save him. No… that's not his fault. He did his job. He taught me to release my emotions to the force, to not form attachments… it was my fault for not listening to him. It was my fault for thinking I was ready to face Dooku alone. It was my… fault…'

And then there was a deep, quiet lull in his head. He just couldn't think any longer.

He left the fresher and prepared for bed. The quiet of the huge house hung heavy in the air. He felt alone.

Lord Vader crawled between the cool crisp sheets and closed his eyes. He was exhausted. He was exhausted of his confusion. He was feeling things, actually _feeling_ things that he shouldn't be. Things that wouldn't register with a true Sith. And what did that mean? It's not like he could change anything, its not like he could go back…

For the first time, Sith Lord Darth Vader felt pure sorrow for the events that had put him in his current position. At the same time, he could feel the darkness swirling around him, looking for cracks and crevices to seep into, and he was _angry_ about how weak he was being. It was as if he had somehow entered an alternate reality that was showing him all of the things he had missed, all of the things he was mistaken about. But why? It was futile!

The tremors of _something_, he didn't know what, were growing within him. _Something_ was on the verge of revealing itself, and it felt so _big_. It was overwhelming.

He was so over stimulated and fatigued that he instantly pushed off the thought of meditating and communing with the force when the thought crossed his mind. He couldn't handle any more revelations tonight, if that was what he was having… or perhaps it was simply his stress and exhaustion getting to him.

His last thought before he drifted to sleep was of Aurren Farr. He felt her presence coming up the stairs of the villa towards her rooms, then entering them. 'I wonder if she's happy…'

In her quarters, Aurren wandered around, noticing the way the rooms were decorated, picking up things here and there to admire them. She had spent the past few hours roaming the estate, and had actually gotten lost once! As a person who often designed intricate floor plans, she never before had failed to loose her way in a building, not once. Wandering through this villa, though, kept her so thoroughly preoccupied with the beauty of the place that she simply forgot where she had been and couldn't find her way back. Thankfully enough, a protocol droid had wandered across her path and led her back to the kitchen. She was worried that she might have to contact Lord Vader on his comm link to come find her. She laughed at the thought of him having to find her in this house.

She had picked at the food that was laid out in the kitchen when they arrived, and then set out to explore the house. It had served to distract her from all that had happened that day, but now that she was in her own blissfully cool, quiet rooms, it all seemed to flood back into her head.

She changed quickly for bed and climbed in. She lay on her back and stretched her arms and legs out as far as they would go on either side of her, reaching for the edges of the lavish, excessively big bed. Then, she curled on her side, and gazed out the windows to the starry night sky.

'I must have as many things racing through my head as stars in the sky,' she thought, as she searched out the constellation called "Ariella" which stars connected to depict the ancient Alderiaan female goddess of love's bow and arrow. When she was little, her father would point it out to her through her window at night and tell her that Ariella would protect her because her mother and he had loved her so much.

She focused on clearing everything from her mind. She needed her sleep tonight. She needed to be ready the next morning, bright and early. Without fail.

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_Thanks everyone for all the reviews! I got a wee bit sidetracked with all of the memorial day weekend stuff, but Im back on track now. so, whaddya think?_


	16. Ch16 Give In

_I'm sooooo sorry this took too long. I got stuck... quite stuck in fact. There is just too much of this story in my head, and I need to whittle it down before it gets written out because otherwise I think I would end up with a sort of "minute by minute" storytelling- & thats just not good!_

_Thanks, **again**, to all of those who have reviewed. Off I go to write the next chapter! _

_reviews, of any kind, are **always** appreciated._

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16. Give In

The next day, Vader and Aurren met up early again. This time, she came upon him in the kitchen as he sat before the hearth reading a data pad. Without many words, they ventured out once more into the countryside in the small ship.

Both of them had a lot on their minds. They spoke very little as they covered a few provinces to the east of the villa, only discussing landscape and suitability. Even though the stretches of silence were vast, it was once more a sort of comfortable silence.

On the trip back, Vader glanced at Aurren, and could feel her mind spinning. She was gazing out the window, but he knew that all that passed her eyes was not actually being seen. He wondered how she felt, being here after so long, being so close to the place where her parents had died- where her life had been changed forever. He wondered how he would feel if he ever found himself back on the deserts of Tattooine where his mother had taken her last breaths.

He looked away as they neared the hanger. There was so much going on in his head, yet somehow he still found time to think about her… to be concerned for her. It wasn't a very Sith-like thing to be doing.

Once more, he escorted her on his arm back to the house, and once more he left her company as soon as they were inside, this time with less words than before. Vader wasn't the only one who noticed the other's distraction. There was something about the softness of his few words today, the slowness of his movements, the gentleness of his hand as he led her to the house that betrayed to her that something was askew.

When he had taken his leave, Aurren once more took to looking about the house. She moved through room after room of opulent grandeur, only to barely let it register in her mind. Her wanderings led her out into the gardens, and she sat on a stone bench to watch the sun set.

She wasn't very concerned with her well being she had a tumult of emotions running through her, but they were ones that she knew very well. They were the ones she had in fact been trying for years to suppress. She took a deep breath and rested her elbows on her knees, her chin in her hands. A few fat tears fell from her lashes into the grass under her. It was time to let these feelings pass. She decided that she was too old to go hiding from her feelings.

Of course it was sad that her parents were murdered, and of course she should have been angry… still be angry. But she seemed to realize now that even though she had once felt that she was being strong by not just letting the emotions roll through her and bottling them up, that was actually the weak way out. It took a much stronger person to fully accept their past and come to terms with it than it did to simply ignore it and put up a front.

So once more, she cried.

From his rooms, the young sith lord stood at his windows and watched her, the setting sun casting a pink glow over her and making the tears on her face glisten. He had told her that he would try not to enter her thoughts, but as she sat there, rather impassive, crying, the urge to know why was overwhelming him. So he listened.

She was mourning. She was finally mourning and grieving for the parents she had lost, the childhood she had lost, and the future- the friendship- the _family_ that she never got the chance to have. And then, her thoughts hit him like a splash of cold water in the face. If he hadn't been a sith, he would have thought it was a wakeup call- the force trying to talk to him through her. The same thought kept cycling in her head. _'It takes a stronger person to face ones fears and emotions, to let them run their course, to appreciate them and the reason you feel them, and then let them go, than it is to simply bottle them up and forget about them.'_

He realized quickly that she was thinking of herself. He had felt her emptiness, and through it had understood that she was someone who shunned feelings and emotions out of what she considered necessity. It was something he understood perfectly. Previous attachments in her life had only brought her pain. Therefore, logic implied that if you remove your attachments, you would remove the pain.

'Very Jedi-like in a way…' thought Vader, 'but then again, also very Sith-like…'

But, he could feel her coming around. She had finally accepted her hurt and pain, and he could feel the _release_ she got, simply letting it all out. Even her aura seemed lighter. He watched her until the sun had set completely, and she rose from the cold stone bench in the dark garden and entered the house.

As he paced his bedchamber, a tiny voice whispered in his head. The same one that found it fit to remind him that the Jedi had been right all along, that in the end Palpatine was the Sith and they had good reason to have suspicion of him so many years ago. He ignored the voice at first. He didn't recognize it- didn't want to recognize it. And then it was clear who's it was.

_'Why doesn't her logic apply to me as well.'_

Though soft and gentle, the voice managed to frighten him. Then there was also the fact that… he couldn't understand how he didn't recognize _his own voice_.

He thought about Aurren's newfound perception of strength. He wondered what would happen if he simply managed to open up the floodgates and let everything out. Could anything actually be gained by doing that?

A strange notion flitted its way into his mind…it was telling him that she was the reason that he was thinking about Obi-Wan Kenobi. It was her aura of calm, her exceedingly polite way, the glint in her eyes when she was pleased, her constant thanks, the way that she seemed to regard him as a man as opposed to a monster or even a feared leader. He had seen his former master do these very things throughout his time at the Jedi Temple. It must be her…

But damn it, he felt a building kind of… compassion for her. If he felt anything for Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, it was hatred. He had turned his back on him, hadn't he?

Vader was sick and tired of the conflicting emotions. He didn't want to deal with this. He was supposed to be on a sort of vacation, he should be relaxing, not tormenting himself over _emotions_.

He tore himself away from the window and climbed into his bed, clenching his eyes shut, willing himself into the deep dark clutches of sleep.

On the other side of the house, Aurren sat in the warm kitchen in front of the fading fire. It was getting late and the next day was rapidly approaching. She looked over the data pad Vader had left on the table. He had set out the route for the next day, and she was more than slightly relieved when she found out that he had not yet decided to venture to the other side of the mountain.

Slowly and distractedly, she made her way up the stairs and into her chambers. "Drained" couldn't even begin to describe her physical and emotional state. Even though, she found that she was not sad… perhaps she was even happy. Somehow, after 20 years, it seemed that a long moment of crying had been all it took for her to come to grips with her parents death and her desertion. She felt, in fact, as if she were a new woman.

A smile slid across Aurren Farr's face as she drifted off into sleep. It was as if an entire star ship had been lifted from her shoulders. And that night, Aurren did not dream of blood and wildflowers.


	17. Ch17 In Dreams

_here's a short one... but i think im back on track now. _

_big thank you's to those of you lovely enough to review- **jedi71, padawan sydney bristow, DarthGladiator45, penpadme, Amylion, Ebony StarStorm, & padmeamidala1202**! xoxox._

_ya know, someone told me once that its a fanfic sin to read & not review! wink wink nudge nudge _

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17. In Dreams

For an entire week, Lord Vader and Aurren Farr went through the motions. They would meet early in the kitchen, sometimes he would arrive first, sometimes she would, and then he would lead her out to the ship to depart for the day. They would spend hours in what Vader considered a mutually agreed upon but never spoken about silence. He already knew that her silence wasn't from her fear of him, she simply had nothing to say. As for himself, he found that he had lots of things to say, tons of things he wanted to ask, but could never get the words to pass his lips.

For an entire week he watched her. He took note of every detail, not just the physical manifestations such as what she dressed in or how she wore her hair or what sweet scent she wearing that day (though he could spend hours on just that), he also noted her moods and sometimes lingered in her thoughts. He had come to realize that when she was tired she would take off her shoes and fold her legs under her in the seat, then with her elbows on her knees, prop her head up as if it were a way to keep awake. When she was thinking- technically that is, about the project- he noticed that she would bite her fingernails. When she was absently thinking about other things, she would stare out the window and twirl whatever hair hung loose around her face around her fingers. When she spoke to him, she always would look at him directly- almost as if she could see through the mask- and sometimes, he would almost forgot he was wearing it when they would have a lengthy conversation. It was as intimate to him as true eye contact, even though he knew she had no clue what hid under the black façade.

Though more often than not the ship was filled with silence, he had managed to speak with her enough to get a better understanding of what kind of person she was. He loved to talk to her about her work. He had been on quite a few of the bases she had designed in the past few years, and was fascinated to hear her speak about all of the advanced capabilities of each stronghold. His mind was simply boggled when he realized that each of them were unique in design, even though they seemed similar. It was part of her secure design. In the past, all of the bases were of simple, uniform design. Aurren had changed the design- only slightly- for each. Enough to make it seem like they were all identical, but different enough from one another completely different warning and security systems were in each.

She was technically minded- much like he was- and he enjoyed listening to someone else talk about weapons systems, electronics, security controls, and the like with as much passion as he once spoke with. It almost made him feel…_alive_ again. At times he felt giddy when he found himself getting excited and wrapped up in the conversation. At times he felt like a teenager again, geeking out over new technology, and he found it very hard to sit there silently and not simply gush along with her. He wished he could just be a normal person sitting next to her in that ship, not Darth Vader. He just wanted to have a normal conversation for once with someone who he felt was actually worthy of discoursing with.

Though she seemed to be passionate about her work in the security end of architecture with all of its advanced technology that normal plebeians wouldn't understand, after a time, he realized that it wasn't exactly passion for it, but something of a unwanted obsession that stemmed back to the insecurity she had felt her whole life. He didn't need her to tell him that for him to know, and he didn't need to read her thoughts. At times she seemed almost disgusted by the lengths taken security wise. When she told him about several unique bases she had designed prior to her being commissioned to work on his palace, he was almost overwhelmed with the systems she had implemented, and even a few she had created herself. She understood security, she had a mind that could contrive new ways to keep a being safe that others couldn't even begin to fathom, and part of her seemed to loathe it.

As much as he loved talking to her about technology and mechanics, he loved the sparkle in her eye when she spoke about beautiful places she loved, like the Alderiaan Royal Palace and the Library and Archives, or the lakeside villas of Naboo she had only seen in holo-vids or in books, even more. Sometimes, when the ship was silent, he would ask her about what inspired her in her work. She would gaze out the window and tell him about the exotic palaces and temples and other buildings on various planets- most of which had been destroyed during the clone wars. She would tell him in a slightly dreamy voice about the beauty of the places, describing them in such detail that he felt he could see each delicate carving, feel the wood and stone and metal and fabrics under his fingertips, smell the heady scent of each garden.

At the end of each sojourn, he would lead her back to the house. He had grown accustomed to this, and comfortable with it, and even _took_ comfort in it. It was just the simple notion of physical contact with another human being. He hadn't realized that going so long without so much as a simple touch- a handshake or even this- escorting someone- was such a big thing. For now, he took pleasure in the few moments each day in which she would willingly allow him to take her hand. It was an innocent form of contact, but he felt as if his heart thawed slightly each time he looked down to see her small hands wrapped around his arm and felt the heat of her fingers through his robes.

Each evening, they would enter the villa through the greenhouse, and then once in the kitchen, he would take her leave, rushing up to his rooms to think about everything. In the morning, it would repeat all over again.

On the eighth day, the routine was once again the same. Upon leaving Aurren in the kitchen that evening, Vader did the same as the previous nights, storming up to his rooms and locking the door securely behind him. Aurren on the other hand, did something she had thought that she wouldn't. She located the vast library in the west wing of the estate and sat down in front of a very high tech computer system. She let her eyes fall over its sleek lines and smiled when she thought about how much she liked the fact that this home looked as if it had be preserved from centuries ago- yet still had all of the modern (cutting edge modern at that) amenities that she had grown accustomed to on the starship.

Seated at the large mahogany desk, the once dark screen came to life and she accessed the Holo-Net. For a moment she hesitated, but then in the search screen, she entered the words "Alderaan Royal Archives." In a split second she was barraged with images of the archives she grew up in. A week ago, if one had asked Aurren if she would ever visit the capitol city again, she would have said no… but now was a different story. She had come to grips with everything and now she wanted to visit all of the things in her past that she had actually enjoyed. For now, she would settle for reading about it on the Holo-Net, but she planned on asking Vader for permission to leave the estate on a day trip to the city.

After about an hour, she had learned that several of the Royal Architects who were so kind to her at a young age were still employed by the government and working out of the Archives. Rubbing her eyes, she glanced at the chronometer on the desk, and noting the late hour shut down the unit and went to bed. A smile crept across her face as she thought about being reunited with her old mentors.

Once in her quarters, she took a leisurely shower, then slid a nightgown over her head and climbed into the big bed. Snuggling into the soft sheets, she thought about how to ask Vader for permission to leave the estate and spend a day in the city. She didn't think long about that, but lingered on thoughts of him. The past few days, she realized, had been very strange. She felt her face flush when she thought about how casual she caught herself being with him at times. It was a strange sensation to think back on the moments where his voice seemed to grow tender and distant, such a stark contrast in every way to the man he seemed to portray.

In his own rooms, Lord Vader was lost in fitful sleep. His mechanical hand clenched unmercifully at the sheets that loosely pooled around his waist. His head tossed from side to side, his face a mask of pain. His breathing began to come in heavy pants as sweat ran in rivulets off of his forehead mingling with streams of tears from his eyes.

Suddenly, he shot straight up in his bed, his breath fast and labored his eyes wide and panic-stricken. He blinked rapidly as if it would somehow erase what he had just seen from his mind. This was not happening to him again.


	18. Ch18 Time for a Break

_two in one day! this one came out pretty quick. more to come this week! once more, reviews are HIGHLY appreciated._

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18.Time for a Break

The morning came quicker than Aurren expected, as she was startled that the alarm that she regularly set every evening actually had a chance to go off for once. She _never_ managed to sleep in long enough to be awoken by the alarm she always set as a safety net. The _beep beep beeping_ of the alarm had her disoriented as she sat up in the large bed, tangled unceremoniously in the sheets. With a groan, she managed to free her arms from her bonds and turn off the alarm. Silence spread around her like a thick blanket as the infernal racket ceased. Falling back to the pillows ungracefully, she rolled onto her side and looked at the time. 'Great,' she thought, 'just great…' as she scurried out of the bed, simultaneously raking at her hair with her fingers divesting it of knots and approaching the wardrobe.

Aurren had overslept. Though technically not late for anything, she was usually an early riser, and was irritated with herself for having needed the alarm to wake her. She moved to the closet and grabbed a pair of leggings and a tunic, dressing quickly without much thought. She pulled on a pair of boots, and as she walked towards the bathroom, rolled the sleeves of the tunic up to her elbows. Hardly stopping to look in the mirror, she ran a brush quickly through her hair and tied it up. Picking up a small tube of clear gloss, she brushed it over her lips, putting it down then grabbing a jar of jasmine scented lotion and rubbed some into the dark circles under her eyes, then over the rest of her face, hands and the exposed skin of her chest at the front of her tunic. Leaving the bathroom, she grabbed a belt from the closet and slung it around her hips and without another thought, left the room in search of Lord Vader so that they could begin their day.

On the other side of the villa, Darth Vader sat in a dark, leafy green corner of the greenhouse. He had come here looking for something to distract him. He was fascinated by this small piece of engineering wonder. It was as if he were in a separate world inside of this room… in fact it reminded him of a strange jungle planet on the outer rim he had spent about a week on during the clone wars… shame he couldn't remember the name of the place. It was easy for him to say why he liked it- it was the polar opposite of the arid, sandy, hot, and endlessly brown Tattooine. It even _smelled_ drastically different… it smelled _alive_, as if he could breathe in the scent of the lush green plants actual life force as opposed to the nothingness and rank and _death_ that his home planet seemed to reek of.

Though he came looking for distraction, he found none.

He had arrived in the greenhouse early that morning after waking trembling and covered in sweat and tears. He had had a "bad dream," or at least, that is what he was trying to convince himself. What bothered him the most though, was the simple fact that the dream had effected him so dramatically. Confusion swirled around him, almost visibly mixing and combining with both dark and light and clouding his mind to the point of utter distraction. He had left his room in a huff, and had actually made it all the way to the kitchen before he realized that not only was he still clad in just his sleep pants, but he had also rather foolishly left his mask off. If Aurren chanced to see him, everything would be… well, he didn't know exactly, but it wouldn't be good. He hurriedly made his way back upstairs, stopping at the outer doors to Aurren's chambers and sending a heavy wave of force induced sleep towards her to ensure he was undisturbed, before he dressed himself and eventually ended up in the greenhouse.

He could only recall glimpses of what he saw in his dreams- just faint images, or even _suggestions_ of images of things he couldn't understand. There was Aurren, walking along a dimly lit alleyway. He heard a child's voice, one he noticed as hers as a child, singing the nursery rhyme from the field with the orchard and the flowers. Then there was a scream, as a figure emerged from the shadows and attacked her. As the images flashed in his mind he felt as if he were being physically held down, and a weight was being pressed on his chest, forcing the air from his lungs. He tried to reach for her, to run to her, to save her, but he was held there static, all he could do was scream and rage at the assailant, threatening him verbally to leave her alone. But the attacker continued. He watched her fight back, kicking out at him and clawing at his eyes, until he brought out a blaster and bashed her in the back of the head with it. He screamed as the bastard let her fall to the ground, then kicked her to make sure she was out. He struggled as hard as he could to break his invisible bonds, to run to her and kill this man who would dare violate her so. The man then grabbed Aurren by the hair, and drug her into a dark corner littered with filth, and began to cut her clothes off with a long knife. He felt his stomach drop as he realized the man's intent as rage filled him and compressed around him. This had to stop. It HAD to stop. He would not let anyone brutalize her like this.

But he couldn't move. He couldn't help her.

The images began to fade and he screamed out, he couldn't save her. And then he shot up in bed. The blood pounded through his veins as he took in the fact that he was actually in his bed. That he was on Alderaan. He reached out through the force without even thinking to check on Aurren, to find that she was resting safely in her bed. And now- now he sat there in the greenhouse, trying to figure it out.

He was shocked at his own reaction. Of course, if Aurren were attacked he would protect her, there was no question about that- the trouble was his actual _feeling_ about her being attacked. The utter panic it instilled in him. The rage that filled him that anyone would dare touch her- even _think_ about touching her. Seeing her being bloodied and bruised, being knocked out, having her clothes ripped from her- and then knowing what the attackers intent was- _watching him_ viciously cut her clothes from her and then being cut off from the image KNOWING what was about to happen and that he could do nothing…

The flood of emotion overwhelmed him.

It wasn't bad enough that he was having a bad dream, but it _had_ to involve _her._ And that wasn't even the worse of it. Vader had had these kinds of dreams before, and they had all come to pass, no matter what he tried to do to rectify it. There was no doubt about it to him. This wasn't just a dream.

He thought back to the dreams he had about his mother. How they made him feel. How he seemed trapped in a sort of limbo as he watched his mother writhe in pain and he could do nothing about it. He _tried_ to save her. He failed. His mother died in his arms. And then, he saw to it that those who had brought this fate upon her were punished- killing every Tusken Raider in the camp- women and children included.

He then thought about the dreams he had of Padme. He felt his blood boil slightly at the thought of her. The woman he would have given his life for. The woman who he had lived for since he was a young boy at the temple. The woman who married him and then lied to him and used him as a plaything while she carried on illicit affairs with several lecherous old politicians. He thought of how foolish he was. He had dreamed of her death. That she would die in childbirth. At the time however, he was under the assumption that the child was his.

These dreams were what led him to the darkside. His first taste of it was when he brandished his lightsaber unmercifully in the Tusken camp after the death of his mother. His second was after confiding to Senator Palpatine the nature of his dreams. Palpatine lured him to the darkside with promises of saving his wife's life. It wasn't until after he had gone to the temple with the clone troopers and watched them destroy the only real home he had ever known that Palpatine told him that his wife was cheating on him… that she never loved him… that the child she carried in her womb was not that of Anakin Skywalker.

'So that's it then,' Vader thought to himself. 'If that is what is to happen to her… so be it. I can't do anything about it… after all… it could just be a dream…'

Vader remained sitting solemnly in the greenhouse until he sensed Aurren moving about the house. Discomfort welled up in him at the thought of spending the day in that ship with her. He had too much on his mind. He was too emotional. Overall, he was too angry. He felt like he would snap from the tension weighing down on him. He decided that they would take a break. He would claim he needed to leave for the day, and would ask her to stay and work on her plans for the house. He could get away from her, but also know that she was safe at home.

It didn't take long for Aurren to find Lord Vader. She was hoping to spend a quiet few moments alone in the greenhouse before meeting with Vader, and was surprised to see him seated in a far corner, his masked face bowed as if gazing distractedly towards the floor.

He sensed her presence in the room and raised his head to look at her. He felt a pang of pain in his chest as he looked at her, a reminder of his vision screaming in the back of his head. He took her in for a moment, noticing how tired she looked and feeling slightly guilty for the overwhelmingly strong sleep suggestion he had placed on her. Even through the slight dark circles under her eyes and the hurried simplicity of her dress, he still thought she was stunning. Even though she was stunning, Vader wanted nothing more than to just _run_, get as far away from her as he could. It was too tender now, too close to the surface. He wasn't even sure if he could hear her voice without reeling in pain.

He stood swiftly, and Aurren could have sworn she felt a coldness settle in around her bones as he spoke to her.

"Miss Farr, we will not be going out today. Or for the next few days. Instead, I would like you to work further on your drawings for the palace. I will be leaving for a short while. You are to _stay here_ and not venture further than the gardens outside."

He felt her tense up as he spoke, and winced under his mask at the harshness he directed towards her. He felt her heart drop at his command for her not to leave.

He began again, slightly more gentle, "I tell you this for your own safety Miss Farr, please, I have my reasons. Stay at the villa. Do not venture from the home. I will be back later."

Before Aurren even had a chance to say, "Yes My Lord," he was gone.


	19. Ch19 Home Alone

_this chapter sucks... ok i said it. it sucks. but it is a necessity. i just have to get all of the stuff out of the way that has to happen before all the good action. really, this chapter sucks. i hate it. but its more important in the fact that it spells out the mindset of the characters. thanks for all the previous reviews._

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19.Home Alone

"Miss Farr, we will not be going out today. Or for the next few days. Instead, I would like you to work further on your drawings for the palace. I will be leaving for a short while. You are to stay here and not venture further than the gardens outside… I tell you this for your own safety Miss Farr, please, I have my reasons. Stay at the villa. Do not venture from the home. I will be back later."

He was gone before all of the words he had said to her had a chance to register completely. Aurren stared blankly at the floor for a moment as she listened to the sound of Vader's heavy footfall fade down the hallway and up the stairs, ending behind a slamming door.

Had something happened? Had something gone wrong? Had _she_ done something wrong?

Slowly, Aurren turned and left the greenhouse, and went into the kitchen. The jittery smell of freshly brewed caffe was welcomed with a smile, as she reached for a mug and poured herself a steaming cup full. She sat down at the counter on a high stool and carelessly added sugar and cream to her cup… she had her mind on other things.

Her elbows propped on the cold countertop; she held the steaming mug just under her nose and inhaled the aroma. 'I wonder what's going on that's got Lord Vader all riled up?' she thought. A small amount of fear began to rise in her. Perhaps she was going to begin seeing the Darth Vader that people all over the galaxy feared and loathed. She felt a knot of anxiety bunching in the pit of her stomach. She didn't want to see that side of him… in fact she had done her best to please him in every way she could. And he had been _nice_ to her. And even though she truly couldn't be sure, and he surely wasn't direct about it, she had a feeling that he actually _cared_ about her- at least some. Enough to have a certain amount of camaraderie with each other. That had to count for _something_.

'Well… at least as much camaraderie as someone could have with a masked man…'

That thought stuck with Aurren for a while. Camaraderie. Friendship?

The thought alone made a smile and a giggle escape her lips when she thought about it. 'Oh, sure Aurren, you shun friendships of any kind your whole life, and now you decide to try to strike up a friendship with _Darth Vader_?' Unconsciously, she placed a hand over her mouth to stop her laughing. It really was inappropriate.

Friends with Darth Vader. Now that was a new thought to her. She didn't even know _what he was_ under all that black. Hell, maybe he wasn't a man at all, maybe not even humanoid.

Aurren sat at the counter for a long time. She was confused, and worried. When she had finished her third cup of caffe, she rose from her seat and made her way to her chambers. For now, she wouldn't worry about what Vader's sudden change in demeanor meant. For now, she would simply do as he asked, and stay at the villa, work on the plans, until he decided to begin again.

In his own rooms, Vader was pacing back and forth in front of the wall of windows in his own seating area, thinking about what he should do. Hastily, he grabbed a data pad and left his rooms. He stopped outside of Aurren's rooms. He could feel her confusion- strongly- from the hallway. Shaking the thought of her from his mind, he swiftly descended the stairs and left the house, headed for the hanger.

Once on the small ship, he didn't know exactly what to do. So, instead of deciding on a pre-destined route, he simply took off with no destination in mind, just letting the force guide him.

He was flying directly towards the mountain that separated the villa from the village Aurren had been born in. Soon, he was around the mountain, and below him he saw a sight that had not only become all too familiar to him, but also haunted him. Yes, this was the place. This is where he saw her- her as a child.

He landed in the grassy meadow and sat in the cockpit and found it was hard to breathe. He was alone now, and he took the opportunity to remove his disguise. A nervous energy began to boil inside of him as he looked out the windows to the long sweet grasses that rippled in the breeze. An overwhelming compulsion to get out of the ship, feel the sun on his face, breath the fresh sweet air came over him, and in moments he found himself outside of the ship, lying on his back in the middle of the field.

He was in awe of the beauty of the place. Off in the distance he could see the small village of Pappillon, as well as the dilapidated remains of what was once the Farr Homestead. Looking behind him, the snow-covered peak of the mountain glistened in the sunlight like a diamond. He never wanted to leave here.

For the first time that day, he began to feel calm. He let that calm wash over him, and lay down in the field, letting the sun kiss his face and the wind play his hair whimsically around his face. He closed his eyes and savored it. Before he knew it he was asleep.

Back at the villa, Aurren had become bored with simply looking over what she had already done. She was hesitant to start anything new due to the fact that she would need to consult with Lord Vader about any changed before she was willing to actually make any. Of course, changes would eventually need to be made to suit the building site, but as of right now, any effort to reconstruct the design would be in vain.

She slumped back against the couch she was perched on and took a deep breath.

She was tired. More tired than she had felt in ages. In fact, she didn't know if she had ever felt this physically exhausted.

Deciding that she could do no more on the plans, and she was too tired for anything else, she resigned herself to her bedchamber.

She closed the heavy curtains over the windows, rendering the room into cool darkness, then striped down to her undergarments, leaving a trail of clothing behind her, and crawled into bed. The heavy darkness of sleep overtook her almost immediately.

On the other side of the mountain, in the fragrant wind-swept meadow, Darth Vader had gone from pleasantly relaxing, dozing, enjoying the sunshine- to being trapped once more in the dream world that had assaulted his slumber the previous evening.

At first, he did not realize that he was having the dream once again. He was simply wandering the meadow in his dreams as he might have done had he not fallen asleep. Suddenly he found himself surrounded by wildflowers. Glancing around, he saw something move within the grasses and flowers. He stood very still, hoping to see what it was, only to be confronted with a tiny blond head with a crown of wildflowers atop it.

'Oh no,' he thought, 'why am I here again… I don't want to see this again… I know what happens. I don't want to see this again, damn…' He tried to remain rooted firmly where he stood when the child picked up the arm of flowers and began walking towards the homestead in the distance, but it was futile. His legs led him behind her of their own accord.

Inside his mind, he was screaming no. He tried over and over again to wake himself up, to get out of the dream, but he couldn't. He was stuck there. Suddenly, his dream changed. He was no longer in the field, but in an alleyway, and the child Aurren was replaced with the adult Aurren.

'No!' he thought, 'No…No… not again, not this again. WHY?'

And once more, Darth Vader found himself struggling against his vision to try and stop the scene that was playing out before his eyes. He knew his screaming and his threats were going unheard, but at the sight of Aurren Farr being ruthlessly attacked, beaten… and now…

His vision was not doing him the favor of cutting him off where it had the previous night. He felt bile rise in his throat as he watched the assailant rip at her clothing with his crude long knife. He wanted to turn away, to close his eyes, to run… but he could do nothing but scream unavailingly.

He watched the wretch of a man run his knife over the perfectly white flesh of her stomach, leaving a liquid crimson line in its wake. He watched the man punch her repeatedly- in the face, in the chest, in the stomach. When the man seemed to have enough brutalizing of her, Vader felt the warm wetness of tears sliding down his face as he watched him rape her. When he had finished with his assault of her, the man kicked her once more, leaving her bleeding amongst the filth of the alley.

Not long after that, the vision slowly faded, and Vader came out of his unrestful sleep.

He remained there for a long time, tears rolling down his face. For once, he did not try to justify the emotion, just let it roll through him- really feeling it, and then releasing it into the arms of the force. He didn't know what was worse, knowing that this could happen to her… or not knowing if the Aurren in his visions survived the attack. That was the major difference between the dreams of his mother & Padme to his dream of Aurren.

He couldn't do anything about it. He didn't even know where this alleyway was… if it was on this planet or another. He didn't know when this would happen… tomorrow, the next day… years from now even? It wasn't as if he could simply lock Aurren up for the rest of her days to make sure that no harm would come of her.

'Actually… perhaps that's not too bad of an idea,' he thought… but then pushed it aside. He couldn't make her a prisoner against her own will. And he certainly could not tell her about his visions. It was too much. It would mean revealing too much of himself to her.

No… he truly could do nothing.

He sat up in the field and looked around. He felt at home here. Relaxed. Peaceful. Calm. This is where he wanted his home.

But… how would he tell Aurren that the place he wanted to build her masterpiece was practically in the backyard of the home her parents died in.

He was dumbstruck for a moment. He actually cared about what she would think of his decision to build here?

Of course, he knew that she would not defy him. Hell, he could tell her he wanted it on top of that damned mountain, and she would try to find a way to please him. Sure, she would be upset about it, but she would never let him know that.

She would never let him know that. It stung, for a moment, when he thought about that. She really wouldn't let him know. Their relationship was nothing more than a boss-employee relationship. They had of late become very casual with each other, but overall, she remained very professional. He could tell when she would chastise herself for being too familiar with him. But to him, the nature of their boss-employer relationship was very much different than any other of the same sort he had.

He thought back to the young technician he had unmercifully killed back on the star ship. A sharp sting of guilt coursed through him. No, this was not the sort of relationship he had with Miss Farr. Theirs was something different indeed. What it was, he was not sure, but it was something that he felt he needed.

For the past 5 years he didn't realize he had been missing something until now. Friendship. He sorely missed seeing anyone look upon him with smiling eyes. It had been too long since before this trip that he had actually heard laughter, and even laughed himself.

He wondered about Aurren. She was not one to give herself up to friendships. At the time when he was preparing the rooms at the villa for her, he had found out that not a single soul on the ship knew her as more than a casual acquaintance. He could not find a single person who he would consider a friend- and it was all because of the distance she put between them and herself.

He wondered how she had managed to let herself open up to him, of all people. He wondered why he wanted to open himself up to her, of all people.

He remained in the field until long after the moon had rose and the sun had set. When he felt sufficiently sure that he would not find Aurren up and about in the manor, he returned to the ship and set the course for home.


	20. Ch20 Long Gone

20.long gone

He crept into the manor in the still dark of the night like a shadow. Indeed, he even felt like a shadow- nothing but a faint image of the man he was when he departed for Alderaan over a standard week ago. Darth Vader was becoming consumed with turmoil. His emotions had always been a source of weakness as a Jedi, fortunately for him it was a source of strength as a Sith- but now, his emotions had rendered him unable to function in either the light or the dark. He couldn't embrace the light due to his fears, but whereas they once strengthened him through the ways of the darkside, the nature of the emotion alone… compassion, caring, friendship… a desire to protect- they were wholly incapable of creating the type of power that fueled the Sith.

As soon as he reached the stairs, he could feel the heavy blanket of sleep that was currently wrapped tightly around Aurren. He moved slowly but surely up the stairs, opening the outer door to her chamber with a wave of his hand, not even breaking his stride as he entered her rooms.

Instead of being greeted by a room full of moonlight, he noticed that all of the curtains in the outer rooms had been drawn. Using the force to enhance his vision, as well as keeping tabs on the sleeping woman, he moved through the rooms quietly, and through the open door to her bedchamber.

Once more he entered a pitch-black room. He moved to the curtains and gingerly pulled them open enough to let a sliver of the silver moonlight fall onto the sleeping lady in the bed. As he turned from the curtains to look at her, his eyes dropped to the floor and he noticed the trail of clothing that led from where he stood at the windows, to the foot of the bed.

He moved to the bed and sat down as gently as he could so as not to disturb her. He was still feeling guilty about the sleep suggestion from the previous night. He could tell she had already been asleep for a long time, and that she would continue to sleep until well into the morning.

Looking at her, he couldn't help but think about the day that they arrived at the villa, when he had entered her room and watched her sleep. He had been so confused that day… in truth he was still confused. He simply sat there and stared at her. A smile spread across his lips when she turned over onto her back in her sleep, the covers slipping down to her hips revealing the scant undergarments that were her only clothing.

Accompanying the smile was also a deep blush to his cheeks as he looked away. It occurred to him that he had picked out these garments… even though it was hurriedly and without much consideration. He never assumed that he would actually _see_ her in them… well, in _only_ them. And as he turned his eyes back to her, his grin widened as he thought about how perfectly they suited her. He swept his eyes over her- from her long dark lashes that fluttered with dreams against her cheekbones, down the long elegant length of her neck, past her clavicle to the swell of her décolletage covered only slightly by the simple but elegant cream colored silk bra. He followed it down lower past the arch of her hip to where matching cream silk panties rode low on her hips.

He felt a growing discomfort the longer he sat there. He knew that what he was doing was something she would not be comfortable with. In fact, he even found it slightly creepy that he was lurking in her rooms late at night while she slept and looking lecherously at her scantily clad form. A new heat rose to his face, this time from shame and embarrassment for violating her- even though she would never know it.

He rose to leave, but then turned back for one last look. He reached down to her, where the sheets were collected at her hips and moved to cover her with them when he found himself stopped… and staring at the white, silky, perfect skin of her stomach. Suddenly, she was no longer perfect. He could see the cuts and bruises from his visions littered across her once flawless skin. He released a breath that he did not even know he had been holding.

He moved away from the bed, and used the force to cover her back up instead of doing it with his hands. He needed to distance himself from this.

He didn't think anymore as he left her rooms and entered his own. He ordered a protocol droid to come and pack for him. He would be leaving for a few days. He had to leave.

As the droid packed, he made his way down to the kitchen, and placed himself in the chair in front of the hearth where he had sat for the past week as he waited for Aurren each morning. He picked up a data pad and began to write… and then stopped. He left momentarily, then returned with a sheaf of paper and a pen. Sitting down once more, he picked up the pen and began writing.

Miss Farr,

I am sorry that this letter is all I can leave to inform you of my departure. A situation has arose which requires my immediate attention. I do require you to stay here at the Villa and continue your work. In fact, my direct orders to you are to not leave the grounds until my return.

I know you will not question my orders or disobey me. You have been one of the few people since the rise of the Empire that I feel I can truly trust to fulfill my orders unquestioningly.

Here, Vader stopped. 'Did I just… "trust"?'

"Yes,' he thought, 'trust is an okay word. Trust is ok. That reveals nothing…'

He couldn't believe that he was putting so much effort and thoughts into simple orders to a subordinate.

'But these aren't simple orders to a subordinate… are they…'

The truth of the matter was, he knew that when Aurren found him gone, only leaving this note, she would feel as if she had done something to upset him, and would quite possibly prepare herself for his wrath upon his return. That was something he wanted to avoid all together. Although she really was the reason for his leaving, he didn't want her to know that. He did however, want to save her from feeling as if she had.

He began again

I look forward to continuing our work upon my return.

'There…' he thought, 'that should help, I think…'

He signed the note with a large black "V" that had become his trademark and did not look at it again as he set it on the table and left the villa.

It was late in the morning when Aurren finally woke up. Glancing at the clock, she shot up in bed with disbelief. It was mid-morning… mid-morning the next day! She had slept from early the previous afternoon until now.

She had to admit that she felt much better than she had yesterday, but she was shocked that she had actually slept- soundly- for that long.

She stayed very still for a moment, trying to discern any sounds of Lord Vader moving about the house. She wondered if he had even returned the previous day. She couldn't hear a sound.

Aurren scrambled off of the bed and to the wardrobe and dressed hastily. It wasn't until she came out of the closet that she noticed that her curtains were open- not completely, but she was certain that she had shut them all the way the afternoon before to block out all the light. She noticed the way a single shaft of light seemed to fall upon the place where she had once lain on the bed. She did not however, even begin to entertain the suggestion that someone else had opened the curtains. She had no clue that Vader had been in her room hours before watching her.

She thought herself much like a mouse as she crept through the house quietly, trying to keep her ears open for any sound of her Lord. She even peeked around corners to see if he was in the rooms before entering them. At long last, she found herself in the kitchen. He was no where in sight. She glanced out the back windows towards the ship hanger, and noticed that it was gone. "I guess he didn't come back last night," she said aloud to no one.

It was then that she noticed a single sheet of parchment laying on the table with a pen on top of it. The first thing she noticed was the large black V at the bottom, signifying that this was written by Lord Vader. "I guess he was back…"

She read the letter at least 4 times before she finally put it down.

Aurren was somewhat relieved at what appeared to be the light tone of the hastily scrawled letter. As short as it was, three words stuck with her. "Trust" and "look forward".

He trusted her? He looked forward… well, to continue their work but… perhaps it meant to see her as well.

Maybe he wasn't mad at her. Maybe she wouldn't feel the down pouring of his wrath after all.


	21. Ch21 No Escape

21. No Escape

He was surrounded by the inky blackness of space. As stars streaked past his ship at light-speed, he tried to focus his mind, tried to come up with some form of idea as to where he should go, what he should do. Lord Vader guided his vessel aimlessly for several hours, until he was called out of his distraction by a soft beep and a flashing orange light on the console. It was his holo-communicator, and the only person who would be contacting him on it would be his master, Lord Sidious. With a flick of his wrist, he switched on the communicating device, and instantly an eerie blue glow filled the cockpit of the ship as the holographic image of the Emperor appeared.

"Yes Master," he said, as he lowered his head in respectful deference to Sidious.

"Lord Vader," the Emperor started, "I see you have left Alderaan, and without the accompaniment of your Architect."

Vaders eyes snapped up at that, as he slammed down his mental shields as fast as he could. He did not want the Emperor to know the nature of his recent thoughts, his confusion, his recent revelations, and most importantly, his voyage into the light. Anxiety began to well in his stomach as he considered the notion that perhaps the Emperor already knew of his indiscretions.

Quickly, he answered his master, replying with the ready-made excuse that he had prepared in case he was faced with this situation. "Yes Master, I have left Miss Farr on Alderaan with explicit instructions to stay at the villa and continue on her work. I have decided to make visits to several of the Empire's newest strongholds to get better acquainted with her work and her weapons and security systems."

It was a good excuse; a valid excuse. His master often urged him to take a more hands on roll, to visit the military establishments on various planets and familiarize himself with them. Mostly, he knew that his master wanted to use his dark presence as a way to keep his subjects- the entire galaxy- in fear of the wrath of the Empire.

What Vader did not know, was that Sidious had an inkling as to what was going through the young Sith Lord's mind. He did not know exactly what the thoughts were, or even have an idea as to where they came from, but through the black recesses of the dark side, he could feel that his young apprentice was beginning to loose some of his fire, his arrogance, his anger. The Emperor knew that it was imperative that he find a way to manipulate his pupil back into the harness of the dark, and if he did not soon, he might be forced to not only search out a new apprentice, but also strike down his current one before he had a chance to get struck down himself.

The air around Vader seemed electrified as he felt the holographic gaze of the most powerful man in the galaxy level on him.

At that time, a thought struck Lord Sidious. His apprentice claimed to be on his way to visit military establishments that Miss Farr had created. Here he found his opportunity. He would send his apprentice to the place where it all started. To the place where he would be forced to face things from his past that shaped him into the angry young Sith he was now.

As Vader watched the luminous form of his Master, he felt a surge of unease, as if he knew that a task he was ultimately unwilling to perform would be the next command of his master.

A smug grin slid over the Emperors hideously marred features, and then he began to speak.

"That is an excellent idea my apprentice. I am enthused to see that you are coming around to my way of thinking. One day, my boy, you shall stand in my stead to rule… but before you do, you must make them _fear_ you; make them _all fear you._"

Vader's eyes were glued to the image, and his blood pounded through his veins as he waited for whatever deception his master was about to pull on him. He knew that he would have to do whatever his master asked, with no questions, and without hesitation. He could _sense_ that the Emperor knew that something was different about him, and the words that would follow would be ones laced with an unspoken test. A test that could have dire outcome if by chance he should fail.

"Since you have chosen this course of action, Lord Vader, I have a particular base in mind of which it would be most insightful for you to familiarize yourself with when it comes to the Architect's work."

A tingling sensation erupted across his flesh, and heavy nausea dropped to the pit of his stomach as the words left his master's lips. "You will go to Tattooine."


	22. Ch22 You Will Go

_Sorry it's been so long. I haven't given up on this fic, do not fear! last chapter & this one are kinda short, but hopefully they will start coming more regularly, & perhaps longer. stay with me!_

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22. You Will Go

"You will go to Tattooine."

Long after Vader had ended his conversation with the Emperor, and long after he had set his course for his force-forsaken birth planet, his master's words echoed through his mind and sent chills racing through the circuitry of his veins. He sat motionless in the pilot's chair, staring into the oblivion that is space, as his vessel hurtled through the galaxy in hyperdrive towards Tattooine. He was, in a sense, on auto-pilot, much like his ship. As soon as the words left his master's lips, it was like he shut down completely. It wasn't because he feared any threats on Tattooine- it was because he feared his master sensing the deep well of emotion surging within him. He was right, he was given a test. One that he feared would completely consume him, once and for all, into the dark side. Never before had this been a fear, he had often wished that he could find how to let it consume him completely, to give him limitless power. It was different now. He had gotten a taste of what he had forgotten, and with that taste not only did his eyes begin to open to all of the things he was missing, but he was questioning all he had believed for the past few years. For once, something twinkled inside his aura, something akin to hope, and falling now completely into the dark seemed a fate worse than death.

A death that would surely come if he failed his master's newest sadistic trial.

Before he thought it possible, the silence of the ship was broken by a rythmic beeping signaling the ship's descent from hypderdrive, and in a sharp snap, the ship lurched and the streaking stars suddenly stopped and the desert planet glowed red before him in front of it's twin suns.

As the ship piloted itself into the planets atmosphere, Vader shook himself from his despondent state, and with a deep sigh, rose from his chair and ventured into the back of the ship. Methodically he began dressing himself as the Sith Lord the galaxy knew him as. When he finally lowered the heavy black helmet onto his head, he took a deep breath and tried to re-focus himself.

"You have to be Darth Vader," he said to himself. "Darth Vader…" With that, he turned and left his quarters, only to be stopped as he turned the corner and found himself face to face with the masked man he had created. Looking back into his own covered face sent a startling rage through his whole being. He felt a brilliant stirring of dark force swirl around him, and the mirror that reflected his image burst into innumerable shards and flew throughout the cabin. He steadied himself with one hand on the wall, and struggled for his breath. It was long after his ship had piloted itself into the private hanger prepared for his ship on Tattooine that Vader exited the ship.

Somewhere out in the wastelands of the planet, a man sat on an outcropping of rock, aglow in the brilliant reds and pinks and oranges of a desert sunset. He had been there, in that spot for close to 3 days, sitting with his legs crossed, his eyes closed, in silent meditation. His lips were chaffed, his face and neck were burnt to an anry red, and covered with 3 days worth of beard- as well as 3 days worth of sand and dirt accumulated sitting in the middle of a wind swept desert. His clothes were worn and ragged, his feet bare. Nearby, one might notice, only if they were looking carefully, the tiny hovel that was the man's home.

Those who knew of him, the few who took notice of him the handful of times he had ventured into the nearest town, referred to him as "the crazy old guy who lives in the wastes." They assumed he had to be crazy- either that or in some sort of trouble, a fugitive perhaps of the Empire. Not that anyone really cared. Who there _wasn't_ a fugitive running from the merciless grasp of the Empire? Who would possibly want to live here if they _weren't_? The children were different, and felt strangely drawn to the sad looking man. They thought he was magic, some kind of wizard or alchemist.

In truth, the man was none of these things- yet all of them at the same time. He was not a crazy old man. He was quite sane, and in fact only in his late thirties. But the past years spent in the desert have aged his soul and worn his sanity very thin. Technically, he was not on the run from the Empire. He did not fear the Empire. But at the same time, he was someone who the Empire had spent a great deal of time searching for. He was also no magician, no wizard, no alchemist. But he could do amazing things, thanks to his blessed and sacred connection to the force.

Amazing things… like what he had been doing for the past 3 days, on a rock, in the desert, lost in meditation.

Amazing things… like speaking to his former master, who had died many years before.

Amazing things… like communicating with an ancient Jedi master who also lived in self imposed exile, an entire galaxy away.

And on this particular evening, as the twin suns blazed violently in the distance in the final few seconds before they vanished from the horizon, a great disturbance shot out through the force, and wracked his body with shockwaves. His eyes shot open and he grasped at his chest, struggling for breath. It was as if the force _itself_ was conducting a battle between dark and light, swirling together and stretching out and had passed through him like a great tidal wave. And just as fast as it had hit him, it was gone. Or was it? Something, not a sound or a feeling, but _something_ lingered there, resonating off his skin and the sand. Something familiar and terrifying at the same time. Something he did not assume was possible.

Jedi Master Obi Wan Kenobi slowly rose to his bare feet and gazed out into the distance as darkness settled over the land. His breath came as deep shudders. There was no mistaking this…_ thing_ he felt. Somewhere, on this very planet, was a man he thought he would never see again. He just did not know how… or why. Anakin Skywalker was on Tattooine.

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_& the plot thickens..._


	23. Ch 23 On The Wastes

23. On The Wastes

It was as if he was being guided by the Force. He made quick work of the preliminary tour- to which he paid little (and much noticed) attention. The encampments highest-ranking general personally guided and deposited a wordless Vader into his private quarters after the tour.

As soon as he sensed the general was out of range, he wandered out into the hall. Randomly, he made turns and took lifts downwards, until he found himself in a hanger – a massive structure with a grand view of the desert wastes out of its large bays.

It seemed to call to him – that open expanse of sand and rock. He sought our a small but fast hover-bike, and zipped out of the hanger without a single soul seeing him. With the sunset at his back, he headed randomly along until he reached an outcropping of rock, then decided to continue from there by foot.

For a moment, he felt liberated of the fear he held for his home planet. The death of his mother, the slaughter of the Sand People, it was all far in the back of his mind as his eyes swept over the dusty landscape ahead of him. As soon as a smile reached his lips, he felt a warm glow enveloping him, like an old, familiar, much loved glove.

He knew this glove. It was a feeling he had not felt in years. It was a feeling that he never though he would experience ever again. _Never._ No one could create this unique sense – no one, save for one man.

As he climbed over the small rocks to stand atop them, in the distance he saw a man on a large plateau like rock formation rise to his feet and turn in his direction.

All at once, it hit him like a punch to the gut as he gazed through the haze towards the man on the rock tower. There was no doubt in his mind who it was. There was also no doubt in his mind that the man knew who he was as well, though he was greatly surprised to feel his open force signature, to have a bond prodded at that hadn't been active in ages.

Now – Vader had to decide what to do. Sidious would be pleased to see the man captured; delighted to see the man tortured by Vaders own hands. A few months ago, he would have heavily considered those options, but after the past few weeks, he began to question everything again. How twisted exactly was his memory? How twisted was his view? How much had he been lied to? And, finally, had he betrayed the one soul who would have given his own life for him?

It was time to finally, once again, come face to face with Obi-Wan Kenobi, his formerly beloved and then hated Master.


	24. Ch 24 What Am I?

24. What Am I?

His eyes leveled on the man on the rocks in the distance. Clad in all black, including a helmet, facemask… He had even been this close to a man who's appearance was the spitting image of the imposing man in black, but he had never had a notion that it would be linked to a feeling like that of Anakin Skywalker. Anakin had died. He watched in agony and then wept when he saw his once apprentice fall to the flames on Mustafar. This man was the image of Darth Vader, the Sith Lord apprentice to Darth Sidious, the ruler of the Empire. This was the image of a man who had been credited for some of the most unthinkable atrocities.

Obi-Wan Kenobi's hand slowly but surely fell to the hilt of his lightsaber hanging from his hip. It struck him as strange when re realized that he was only acting upon the appearance of this man. Solely on _who_ or _what_ he looked like. His actions due to the man's appearance were dramatically different from what the Force told him of this being.

He was in no danger from this man, the Force rang out to him. As well as not feeling any danger, he felt the welling of questioning pouring from the man on the small outcropping of rocks. Then, just as slowly as his hand lowered to his hilt, it fell back to his side at rest, and waited.

Across from Obi-Wan, Vader watched as the mans hand slowly reached for the saber at his side. It startled him slightly, at the sight of his former master reaching for his weapon as if in defense. It was then that he noticed two things at once: One, the last and only time he had ever seen his master reach for his saber against him in defense was on Mustafar; Two, he felt a question in the man's Force signature that stayed his hand.

Vader immediately knew what it was. Obi-Wan _ saw_ him as Darth Vader, but somehow _felt_ through the force that it was somehow his former padawan. The question was "how… and why?" Hadn't Anakin Skywalker fallen to his death years ago?

Perhaps this was a sort of the cliché "things aren't always what they seem." But only a _sort_ of the saying, because in his heart, he knew that somehow he still was, and would always be Darth Vader. Even if he were to once again come into the light, he would no longer technically be Vader, but he would always carry with him his former life and the ghastly horrors that came with it. Things that were becoming more and more horrendous to him as the days passed.

For once in his life, he didn't know what to do. He realized he didn't even know who he was anymore. He felt as if he were in a swirling void, somewhere between the man Darth Vader, and the lost Anakin Skywalker. As he gazed across at his former master lowering his hands from his weapon, more pounding in his head erupted over the corruption, the lies, the deceit. He knew Sidious was capable of it. Sidious knew that Anakin was in love with Padme Amidala. Sidious knew he would do anything to save her. Sidious had drawn him in with false promises, then knowingly let him believe that the woman he loved was pregnant with his child, when in fact, it was another man's child all together, and that Padme was just a pawn of the Sith Lord. He would never forget the day after the day on Mustafar how Sidious had told him that Padme was a lying cheater. He felt the whole world was against him. But he saw the pleasure at the grief and anger he had instilled in his new apprentice, and now he had to find out from the one man whom he had never thought would lie to him.

Vader's fingers did the thinking for him as they deftly felt their way to the latches and unhooked his mask, and in one fell swoop, he removed both the mask and the helmet from his head. And just like that, it was gone, and he felt the sandy wind whip against his cheeks, blowing through his sweat soaked locks. He stared at the desert earth for a moment and then quickly looked up to the man across the sand. Straight and quick as an arrow, he locked gazes with Obi-Wan Kenobi.


	25. Ch 25 Do We Dare

Ch. 25 Do We Dare

He could hardly believe his eyes as he watched the black mask and helmet fall from the towering black figure's head. It was as if in his heart he knew it was true, but when face with the reality of it, the Force and his own perception working together like clockwork, all he could feel was that of a large rock dropping to the pit of his stomach.

Obi-Wan still could not comprehend how… just, how? How could he feel Anakin, how could he _see_ the young man, and even more, how – HOW could he be dressed in the robes and masks of a man who he held responsible for all the terror in the galaxy.

He watched as the young man across the way stared at the ground for a moment, and then suddenly, lifted his head and locked eyes with him. He had seen those eyes before, so brilliant, and right now, so clear that he could be mistaken for the padawan he had raised. The swirling red and gold of the dark side he had seen on Mustafar was taken over by the ocean of piercing blue. His stomach dropped even more, and tears began welling in his eyes.

He wished he could sit down, close his eyes, and begin meditating again. He had no options as to what to do now. He had made a bond with himself that he would never, ever raise his hand to his beloved apprentice when he was young. He had broken that promise on that terrible planet of lava and flames, and broken his heart that day as well. He knew that even if this was a trap, he couldn't defend himself against the visage of this man again. If he were to be killed or taken by the Empire and tortured, he would endure it.

He was the last of a small few who had saved themselves after order to kill all jedi had been issued by Sidious. He was not in hiding from the Empire. He would never hide, he was a master jedi. And over the last few years, he had learned some amazing things about the living force and learned to communicate over long distances through meditation with Master Yoda, as well as his deceased Master Qui-Gon Jinn. He had learned that some day would be his time to join Master Jinn in the light of the Force, but never assumed that it would come from his former apprentice.

Obi-Wan Kenobi was still trying to understand the fact that he was alive, and apparently well, and staring him in the eyes that very moment.

They stood across from each other, perfectly still, as if in a match of wills, who would make the first move.

In fact, neither of them had a clue as to what would happen next.

The dual suns seemed to be quickly setting as their gazes held each others. Vader could see on the face of Obi-Wan all of the surprise, the hurt, the wonder, and even his resolve. He could tell that Obi-Wan would not fight him again. Now, if only he could find a way to relay to his former master that he was not there to hurt him. As a matter of fact, he had come upon him as if by the will of the Force. He had been in a lighter spot recently, one that had sent him reeling for answers to questions that he had yet to ask. Questions that he now yearned to ask as the shadows played across the sandscape.

Neither of them moved an inch. Neither of them were ever known to be indecisive. Neither of them ever expected to be in this particular situation.

Slowly, Vader began to move towards the man, who stood like a statue dressed in rags on the top of the cliff. As he moved, he began removing the pieces of his disguise. First the large gauntlet like gloves on his hands, then the large chest piece which he unbuckled from under his cloak. He let these items fall to the ground unceremoniously as the warm air of Tatooine began to touch his flesh and seep through his uncovered robes. As piece by piece was removed and littered on the ground, it was as if a great weight, not just that of the suit itself, but a weight on his mind and soul were being lifted. It felt liberating. He felt as if he could do anything.

And what he wanted to do most of all was run, run to the man on the plateau and bow down to his former master, and beg for the truth.

Shock and Awe was all that could describe Obi-Wan Kenobi's emotions as he watched the advancing figure remove his suit, which was rumored to be on that sustained his life. He forced himself to breathe deep and evenly to calm himself as the figure dropped more and more of the black suit to reveal simple black robes; much like those Anakin wore before turning. The closer and closer he got, the more and more he was left motionless and speechless, perhaps even thoughtless at what was happening.

When the man finally removed the last of his enclosures, he was close enough to clearly see his face, and for his own face to be seen. He was close enough that if he spoke in a regular tone, the other would hear it clearly.

Again, when Obi-Wan reached out into the Force, he felt no danger. What he did feel was great, deep sadness, remorse, grief, and slight anger. Anger which was not pointed at him; but someone far, far away.

He felt the need to finally move and reach out. If this really was what the Force was telling him, he really didn't know how to handle it. But he couldn't _not _face it. So, as the presumed Anakin came closer and closer, Obi-wan made his way down the hill to his small home.

It was there, some few standard meters from the front door that they both came to a stop, looking each other in the eyes.

It was hard for Obi-Wan not to notice the swelling of tears in his eyes, it was even harder not to notice the wateryness of the eyes of the man standing mere feet from him. Both of them had thrown up their shields; so strongly that their heads began to ache at the effort it took to just let all of the emotion each of them felt come rushing out. It was sure to be enough to overwhelm each of them.

He just stared. Stared into those blue eyes that he had once known so well and held so beloved to him. It was then that a sound startled him. _That voice._

"It _is_ me, Obi-Wan."


	26. Ch 26 It's Me I Think

26. It's Me… I think

"It _is_ me, Obi-Wan."

Obi-Wan Kenobi simply stared back, mouth agape at the sound of his voice. What to say?

Vader, on the other hand, felt a stream of confessions welling inside of him, trying to surge out, but his first issue was, well, his statement.

"It _is_ me, Obi-Wan". What did he really mean by "me". He didn't know. He was no longer Anakin Skywalker, he would have to once more replace his costume and become Darth Vader, at least for now to keep the Emperor at bay. But he didn't _feel_ like Vader anymore, and he could not remember what it felt like to be Anakin Skywalker. All he knew, was that he was the man that Obi-Wan was struggling to believe was standing before him. As for what he'd call himself, he did not know.

In a voice that didn't sound like his own, Obi-Wan replied without thinking, "but who are you."

At least they were both on the same path. Neither Obi-Wan nor Vader himself could really answer that question.

Finally Vader replied, "I'm not really sure right now, but I once was what you think I am. As for who I am now, perhaps that is what I am seeking, " he said, as his eyes lowered to the ground. He watched as a fat teardrop fell from his lids and landed on the sand like a tiny orb soon dissipating due to the sheer heat. And then, he saw bare feet approaching him, just as slowly as everything else seemed to be happening. He couldn't raise his head to meet that face.

Then, he felt a hand fall on his shoulder, the shock of it sending shivers throughout his body.

Obi-Wan really had no idea what to do, but felt the urge to finally break whatever barrier was keeping them apart. As his hand fell to the man's shoulder, he grasped it, and was soon greeted with the gaze of eyes of deep water. The words fell from his lips, "if I were once your brother, I am always your brother."

Vader could no longer hold it and fell into the older mans arms, then lowered to his knees and grasped the ends of his cloak, looking up at him questioningly like a child. "I need to know Obi-Wan, I need to know the truth. I know you would never lie, I need the truth. Please Obi-Wan, Please, I need the truth."

With that, he dropped his head with shame and wept, knowing, without Obi-Wan even saying anything, just the look of remembrance, of what once was, and what once happened. He knew that he had betrayed and been betrayed. He had lied, and been lied to. He had not been the chosen one, this was not how it was supposed to happen. He was not bringing peace to the Force. At one time, he had been on the right track, but now, he was so far away from what could have been that fabled character, to one more gruesome than fiction.

…

It seemed he had passed out. It was many hours later when Vader resumed consciousness, and the darkness seemed to envelop the tiny hut from outside the few windows. In fact, both of them had passed out. It was simply a fact that Obi-Wan had become so much stronger with his connection to the living Force that he was able to come back-to only moments after they had both fallen to the dusty ground.

Across the room, Obi-wan sat, clean and cross-legged, facing the small fire built to ward off the evening chill. A calm was all about the room. Vader did not know it, but in fact, he sensed it the moment he awoke and knew that he was now summing up his situation.

Vader observed the room surrounding him, just one minimal room with a tiny barely functional archaic style bathroom area. He was on what appeared to be Obi-Wan's sleeping couch. It had to be, it simply reeked of Obi-Wan's intrinsic scent. A small kitchen area was in the back to the left and open to the rest of the room, which consisted of a small but comfortable looking chair to the side of the fireplace, the fireplace itself, a hand woven rug in front of the fire place where Obi-Wan sat placidly, and then where he was, in the simple sleeping couch of a man who had become a hermit.

'Very appropriate,' thought Vader as he surmised the space. 'I always thought at the temple that if they would allow him to live in a cave, he would...' then he stopped, and his thinking went a completely different way, '… the temple'

Quickly, he brushed away that thought and just as quickly it was replaced by another, 'someone is going to be looking for me soon.'

He didn't want to leave, but felt as if he couldn't until he had spoken to Obi-Wan. But what after that? And would any talking be enough? And what about the Emperor? What if Sidious finds out? What would they do to him? What would they do to _Obi-Wan_?

He swung his legs over the side of the make-shift bed and noticed that his boots had been placed neatly beside the foot of the sleep couch. Just like he used to do when he was younger and fell asleep with his boots on. It was a small, but reassuring creature comfort that he hadn't felt in many long years.

He sighed, in spite of his wanting not to disturb Obi-Wan, and quite unconsciously at the thought. With that, Obi-Wan turned to face him.

"I knew you were awake. So what do you think of my grand quarters here?"

…

Worlds away, at the small kitchen table in front of the fire Aurren Farr sat awake. She simply had not been able to sleep in the 2 days that Lord Vader had been away, and when she was able to, she was harassed with horrible dreams. Aurren had not done much in those two days.

The first, after finding the note on the counter, seemed to pass as if she were in a daze. She looked over her work but found nothing she could continue on. She hated doing anything twice, so why change something if it were to not please her Lord. That night she spent tossing and turning, sleeping lightly and having dreams filled with cuts and bruises and other sorts of abuse.

This morning, she rose from bed and dressed earlier than she had since she had been here. She rushed out to the hangar to see if Vader had returned, and found herself saddened at his continued absence. She spent the day wandering her way once again through the massive house, randomly encountering strange droids performing random cleaning tasks.

Dinner appeared as it normally did, as if from out of no where. She decided to have some fun and raided her lush wardrobe for a decadent gown and dressed as if she were eating with a king, draped in jewels and fine soft fabrics.

And now she sat. Still gussied up from her pretend lavish meal. She played unconsciously with one long curl that hung over her bare shoulder then ran those fingers over the jewels hanging over her clavicle. It wasn't the first time she had ever sat alone. She spent much of her time alone. She was always alone. Now she was feeling something much rarer to her than just being by herself. She _felt_ alone.

Perhaps she missed Lord Vader, and the way they could talk about things the way they did, and how sometimes they could talk without saying anything at all. Maybe she missed that.


	27. Ch 27 At Dawn

_I know its been a long time since I've been at this, and a bunch... well, some small chapters have come in the preceeding days. I like this story, & have wanted to complete it now for a long time, just had a bunch of busy months pass & now might have a bit more time to squeeze out possibly a chapter a day. _

_As for anything else, if you got questions, ask 'em. & comments are always welcome. I really want to know what you guys think when you are reading it. I can hardly decide if im going too slow or too fast with this and the way it is unfolding. i would LOVE to know what you readers think. so please, please review._

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27 At Dawn

Obi-Wan Kenobi had always been known for his ability to work around awkward situations. There was a reason, after all, that they had called him "The Great Negotiator." This time around, though, he found it hard to find something to say, so in complete Obi-Wan form, he cracked a joke.

"I knew you were awake. So what do you think of my grand quarters here?"

Vader had been caught so off-guard by this statement, that he actually let out a small laugh, as if not being able to believe that he was being so casual and unguarded.

Obi-Wan's eyes sparkled when the young man's lips curled at the end and a slight laugh was emitted. Maybe, just maybe, all was not lost when it came to his former apprentice.

After coming-to, that is, after Vader/Anakin/whoever he was dropped his shields and knocked them both clean out, he had carried the man into his home, laid him on his neatly made sleep couch, and removed his boots, placing them at the end of the bed. It almost felt like a natural task. Who knew how many times he had done this in the past… Anakin collapsing on his bed after a long campaign, only to have Obi-Wan find him like that and put him into the bed properly.

He had spent the hours that the young man slept meditating. He had a great deal he needed to find out, needed to know. The hard part was, it seemed that everyone knew about this, except for him. Both his passed Master as well as the live and kicking Yoda across the galaxy. Both of them had decided to keep this tiny bit of information from Obi-Wan, who was already overwhelmed almost constantly with grief that the boy had died. They were worried for Obi-Wan, for what he would do if he found out that his former Apprentice had turned into the infamous Sith Lord.

Much to Obi-Wan's consternation, he found himself almost glad in a way that he had not known. Who knows what would have happened out on the sand hours before if he knew for certain that Anakin had turned into the Sith Lord. He might not have waited for the moment that Anakin approached, removed his gear, and pled him for the truth.

As for guidance and advice, all they could tell him was to open himself up, live more within the Living Force, that it would guide him. Obi-Wan didn't think those answers were good enough, he wanted more. He wanted to know why he was here. He wanted to know if he was in trouble. He wanted to know if he were to be captured. He wanted to know everything. But of course, he was reminded that their destinies were not set in stone, that if he were to listen to the Force, everything will come out the way it _should._ But that didn't say whether or not it would be a good outcome.

He gazed at his former apprentice who had stopped laughing, but still had tiny quirks at the corners of his mouth, as he laced up his boots in the dim light. He could sense anxiety and apprehension from him. And by the way he was lacing his boots so quickly, realized that he must have come from somewhere, perhaps the base a few standard miles away, and would be expected at some time. He was after all, Darth Vader. His presence would definitely be noticed.

Before Vader could even get a word out as he finished with his boots and glanced up at Obi-Wan, he heard "You have to leave, don't you?"

Obi-Wan was once again met with those blue eyes.

"Yes," the man said, "I do… I don't know what I was expecting to find when I wandered the desert. It certainly wasn't you. But… but once I saw you, I knew why I was here. I felt it, I felt it Obi-Wan. Lately…"

He stopped without finishing and simply looked down shaking his head.

"I do have to leave. I have to inspect the local base this coming morning. I have to go back there and be something I don't want to be anymore."

He stood, "I feel like I should be here. That I have something to learn from you. That I need to speak to you. That we both need some understanding. That we both need some-"

And then he was interrupted by Obi-Wan.

"Patience, brother, patience," He said. And Vader looked at him questioningly.

"You are right, there are many, many things I want to talk to you about, I want to ask, I want to answer, and nothing but the truth. Obviously, though, this is not the time for that."

He continued, "it seems to me that… you've changed. I never knew what you had become. I never even thought it was a possibility. I have questions for you as well as you have questions for me. And it will come, in due time. Remember Ana…" he stopped, "remember to follow the living force.

Vader replied, "that's the problem Obi-Wan, I don't _remember_ it. And now… now its coming back to me, from out of no-where. Its coming back and I don't know how to handle it. I don't know how to continue being a Sith Lord when every time I close my eyes I can see the light of the Force, and meditate within it, and communicate with it. Im stuck Obi-Wan, Im stuck. I don't even know what or who I am anymore."

"…and now I have to go back to that base after a few hours of the most calming and peaceful rest I have felt in as long as I can remember." His voice had dropped low and faded out towards the end of that statement, and he found himself once again staring towards his feet. It was hard to meet Obi-Wan's eyes.

"Then you must go back. Do not let yourself get caught by the Emperor like this. Until you decide what you want to be, _who_ you want to be, you must continue as Darth Vader. Lord Sidious is a vicious man, I wouldn't even put it beyond him to already have another apprentice in training to take your place. Be careful of yourself. Do not be foolish and risk your life at this point."

"You are right, we must speak with each other, but now is not the time."

"No," Vader responded, "it must not be…"

Quickly, Vader searched for an answer to this puzzle, and thought of one immediately.

"In 3 days I will be leaving for Alderaan. I would like for you to come with me, covertly, no one has to know. I know I can pull it off, the Emperial Fleet would never stop to search my ship, and my location in Alderaan is secret. I am building a new home. And… I know… I know I can trust her…"

"Her?" Was Ob-Wans reply.

"Oh, yes… well, her. The Architect. She would keep the secret. I know she would, I trust her."

"Does she know about… you?," Obi- Wan asked.

"Well… no, she doesn't. I know she has questions about me. Who I am. What I am. But… I like her, we get along. She isn't uncomfortable with me. There is a calm about her Obi-Wan. And something else… I'm not sure I've ever met anyone like her before. I don't know how I will tell her, but, somehow… Well, what do you say, will you come?"

For a moment Obi-Wan actually wondered if this could be a trap. Immediately, though, he dismissed it. "How would we go about getting me on your ship?"

Vader thought for a moment; then devised a plan.

"In 3 days, at dawn, meet me outside the fleet hangar at the base. I will be there early, and tell everyone to leave me alone. When you arrive, I will get you on the ship safely, and shortly thereafter we shall depart. No one has to know. Just you and I. I know it will work, I am supposed to be one of the most powerful men in the galaxy, I will be Darth Vader, at least when needed, to make this work. Then- well- we could have all the time in the world to question each other, in a safe place."

It took Obi-Wan no time to answer, "then let it be done."

As Vader walked towards the door, Obi-Wan approached as well. Before he opened the door, Vader turned to face Obi-Wan. They leveled each other with their eyes for a moment, then embraced. A whisper left Vader's lips as he grasped his former master. "Please know, Obi-Wan, please know that I am already sorry. I am already sorry for all of this."

Before tears could once again form in his eyes, he left his master's embrace and stepped back, straightening himself. "In 3 days, at dawn. Please Obi-W…

"In 3 days at dawn, I will not fail you boy."

With that, Obi-Wan watched as his former apprentice, who was now in a world of chaos, walked away from his tiny abode, and as he strode along, picked up piece after piece of his costume as he made his way towards the rocks that he had earlier appeared behind.

For the first time in a very long while, Obi-Wan Kenobi had a feeling that things could change in the galaxy. Perhaps he had his Chosen One back.


	28. Ch 28 On the Move

_So, this one is a little slow, but the days have to pass before he can take Obi-Wan home. Also, i felt i needed to build a little suspense around the Aurren/Vader/Dream scenario. Its going to get interesting, & this isnt that great of a chapter, but we all need lead ins. the next chapter might be more of the same, but expect some excitement when they get back to Alderaan._

* * *

Vader returned to the base just a few hours before the sun rose. The hangar was vacant as he entered, and the first thing he wanted to do was return to his quarters and take a long, hot shower.

He scanned ahead of himself for any personnel that might be roaming the halls so he did not have to encounter anyone on his way through the base. He entered his personal quarters and with a sigh, locked the door and made his way to the bathroom. There, he took off his black guise, and his robes, turned on the shower full blast, climbed in and sat cross-legged on the floor as the water tumbled over his body. He hung his head, and tried to relax under the steaming jets, also trying to remove the sand that felt ingrained in his skin. Same as ever, he still hated sand, and it gets _everywhere_.

He was trying to mentally prepare himself for the coming days. Getting Obi-Wan off the planet with him was something he knew that he could pull off without anyone suspecting anything. Hell, the rogue jedi had been living some few standard miles from this base for so long, and no one even knew he was there.

It was getting back into the act as Vader that was proving difficult. His mood had changed. He couldn't feel the anger anymore that welled into him at the first sight that he disliked. Moreover, he was, in a few short hours, supposed to be this imposing and dangerous being as he, in detail, inspected the base encampment and all of its weapon defense systems.

Vader stayed in the shower until his fingers and toes were wrinkled with moisture and the once blazing hot water began to cool. By that time, he had just enough time to dress himself and get ready for the day. If only he could try to be the man on the inside that he looked on the outside, at least enough as to not give any alarm to the crew. Which meant he had to be brutal. Something he was now beginning to fear.

…

Miles away in the desert, Obi-Wan Kenobi was spending his time meditating. He still had so many questions. The man who was once his former apprentice and was currently known across the galaxy as Sith Lord Darth Vader had invited him to go across a long amount of space and return to civilization on the planet of Alderaan. He had accepted immediately. He hadn't even questioned it, which was what he was doing now. Somehow, he guessed that his first instincts about the trip must have been true, which is why he so readily accepted the invitation. This… man, (he still did not know what to call him), could be putting him in a trap. As much as he tried to ruminate about it being a trap, the force just called back to him that it was not so, that to be one with the living force, as a powerful jedi, one should go with their first strong instinct. And Obi-Wan's instinct was that his former padawan was now struggling with something he never even considered. Turning from light to dark, and then trying to return to the light after living as a Sith Lord.

He simply couldn't imagine the sort of emotional rollercoaster the man was on. As a child, and even young man, he was ruled much by his emotions, but had been helped, by Obi-Wan himself, to try to reign in those emotions and use them purposefully. As a Sith, he had been encouraged to act on these emotions, and not in a good way. When he was angry, he was not only encouraged, but it was expected of him to use his immense power wrathfully, to get his way. Lives were not important to a Sith, getting what you want is what is important to a sith. Technically, he was still a Sith, but there was no doubt the amount of light that was beginning to envelop the darkness.

He also feared for his once-friend. He feared for his life if the Emperor were to find out. He was certain that the Emperor was ready for any kind of failure from his apprentice. He was certain Sidious already had a back up in line for when Vader faultered. A plan of some sort must be made soon, or it could mean certain death for the both of them… that is, if they even made it to Alderaan.

…

The word around the base was that he was in one of his "moods," and rightly so, the advice given out was "stay out of his way and do what he says." All of these assumptions came from one thing, the near refusal of Vader to say close anything while being given a detailed tour of the base. At the end of the long day, Vader was almost pleased that he hadn't had the need to do anything or say anything to betray himself. He had psyched himself out to be a bit gruff, and very silent. In the past years, it was rumored that when he was very quiet he was capable of extreme rage at the flip of a switch. So, everyone tip-toed around him all day.

It would be his plan for the next day as well, until in 2 morning's time, he would be collecting Ob-Wan from the desert and taking him with him back to Alderaan.

Alderaan. He couldn't wait to get back there. It was beautiful there, the home he was living in was perfect, and the home that would be built for him would be even more so.

But it wasn't just the pleasantries of the Alderiaan countryside that was luring him back. A certain young architect was there, just waiting for her master's return. And when he returned to her, he had a lot of explaining to do. Where, though, he did not know to start. How would he even possibly do this.

Vader went to bed that evening after another long shower and then a short amount of meditation. Just enough for him to see those lights that never revealed themselves to him in the darkside, and to reassure him of his future in the light. It was so close, he could almost taste it. There would just be so much to deal with in getting there, and actually obtaining the light of the force wasn't going to be the hard part. Parting from the Emperor would be. And keeping his plans secret.

Lying in bed, it took him a while to fall into a light sleep. He dreamed of Alderaan, and the countryside, and the flowers with their lofty seed heads floating in the breeze like ethereal petals. Soon, his dream began taking him back down a familiar passageway, in a familiar town, towards a familiar alleyway. Something inside of him told him to _run._ So he ran, and once more his nightmare about Aurren was taking place. This time, he grabbed his saber from his belt and tried to run the man through, but instead of slicing him in half, it simply ran through him like air.

Vader shot up in bed in a deep sweat, panting for breath. He had for a while forgotten about his dream about Aurren. He tried to believe that it wasn't true… even though his dream about his mother way, his dream about Padme was not. As a matter of fact, he didn't even want to accept that this could perhaps be a prophetic dream. But just in case, he was planning on keeping a close eye on Miss Farr when he returned to Alderaan.

…

Aurren sat on the edge of the bed, gazing out the open full-length windows. She would find no sleep tonight either. When she had closed her eyes that night, she had done so without thinking of the horrible things she had dreamt in the previous nights. Tonight's dream was right out of a horror novel. And she was the target of the beast. She was taking a shortcut down the alleyway between the Alderiaan Federal Buildings and the Art Museum, when she was attacked by a man. Aurren always through having being initially trained for the military (she had to go through military basic training to get to her status), that she could hold off an attacker, but this night, in her dream, he completely over powered her.

As she sat on the edge of her bed in a daze, she could smell the man's stale breath, the knife that ripped at her clothes and then her flesh, the strong hands and fingers that held her down, the dirty ragged shoved in her mouth to keep her quiet.

She had never experienced anything like that before. Never had a dream had her so stricken.

Walking to the windows, she looked out at the still empty hangar and wished that her Lord would return soon. For the first time ever, Aurren was afraid of being alone.


End file.
